One Last Try
by Eccia
Summary: Veronica issues a warning when Logan shows an interest in renewing their relationship. However, Logan has a plan. Will his plan succeed or will they be over, for good? Rating for mild language, mentions of alcohol and drug use, and tasteful references to sexual situations.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay so, basically this story begins about a year-ish after the show finished with the assumption that Veronica broke up with Piz like right after. It is implied that Logan has (hinted?) asked Veronica out and this kind of picks up with her response. Not sure how long I plan for this to be, honestly, at least a few chapters, although this is all I have written at the moment.

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Chapter One: Will They/ Won't They

"Here's the deal," she said, leading him over to an empty table in the cafeteria, "I'm willing to give us," she gestured with her hands between them for emphasis, "one more shot." She watched the grin grow on his face and held up a finger to indicate she wasn't finished talking. "One, as in we get into a stupid argument in three weeks and break-up and that's it, for good, there's no coming back. I can't keep getting caught in this loop with you. I love you but it's just too painful to keep doing this. So, think about it, okay," she finished and looked to his eyes for some sort of understanding or acknowledgement.

He couldn't say that he didn't understand; he certainly felt the unbearable pain of losing her the last time they broke up. "So, what happens if we don't get into an argument in three weeks and break up?" he asked, running his finger along the edge of the table, meeting her gaze.

She smiled and took his hand, "then we get married." Surely that ultimatum would scare him off, instead they shared a laugh. "I'm not saying that we never argue again, because we both know that won't happen. I just saying when we do, we work through it, together," she said, bringing it back to the serious. They were kind of notorious for breaking up instead of dealing with their problems and holding grudges.

Veronica had been single almost a year and in that time had done a lot of thinking and analyzing her past relationships with Logan. First "break up" was regarding Shelly Pomroy's party and her unwillingness to go ahead and confront him about what happened. Second break up: she thought he murdered her best friend and didn't talk to him about it. Third break up: Logan was out of control. Somehow this could be brought back to their lack of communication. Fourth break up: He broke up with her, wanting to spare them the inevitable pain; something about her independence and trust issues and his feeling of inadequacy and desire to protect her. Fifth, and last, break up: He slept with Madison Sinclair. Madison freaking Sinclair. They both could use some work.

Twelve months. It was probably around the longest period of time that she had been single since she started dating. It had been good for her, though. Veronica made a point to focus on her schoolwork, spending time with her friends, and the less dangerous cases at Mars Investigations. She even had time to return to photography.

"So," she said, bringing the conversation back, "take a few days or more. Think about it and when you're sure, ask me out on a date. In the meantime, I'd still like to be friends, if that's all right?" It's not like there were any guys waiting in the wings to sweep her off her feet. Deep down, she knew she was meant to be with Logan; she just had to be sure he was all in as well.

Logan nodded in understanding. Veronica wanted to be in it for the long run and he needed to figure out if he was ready for that kind of relationship: the potential rest of his life kind of relationship. "Okay," he pointed to his wrist where a watch was not, "I should be heading to class though. Do you want to come by later and watch a movie, friend?" he asked, standing up and grabbing his books from the table.

"Just a movie?" she asked, suddenly nervous. Did he not just get her message? She wanted him to think about it.

He laughed, "Unless you want to be _those_ kinds of friends, which I am completely okay with, by the way." He wiggled his eyebrows at her. The day he said no to sex with Veronica Mars would be the day that someone needed to get him a psychiatric evaluation because he would have officially lost his damn mind.

She blushed furiously as she shook her head. He shrugged his shoulders and walked off to class, already formulating a plan in his head. It was genius really, he would "date" her without actually dating her, then they couldn't break up. Once he was sure that they truly had learned to work out their differences, he would ask her out.

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A/N 2: I hate to beg, but, if you feel so compelled, review. Any thoughts you have, good or bad, just enter them in the cool box for me.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So, I was going to upload this yesterday (SATURDAY), because I had it all ready to go (pretty much, I think I edited it one more time since but really, it's nothing major) but then Friday night we had this flash storm that lasted all of like 20 mins where the sky opened up and water literally poured and wind and thunder and lightening and then poof gone and with it was my power. We still don't have power (or internets) but my lovely friends have given me refuge (approaching the 48 hour mark) so here it is. Sorry it's not longer, but I have been working on the next one and it appears to have run away from me and is much longer. Hopefully my power will be back soon and I can update again tomorrow. Anyway, the end of my little story about the weather and my post power apocalyptic wasteland.

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Chapter 2: Movie Night

The pair sat on the couch in the penthouse suite of the Neptune Grand hotel watching a movie on the large-screened television. She rested her head on his shoulder, more out of habit than anything else, tired from a long day of classes. He had allowed her to choose the movie for the evening, giving only one restriction: the movie absolutely could not star, feature, or make any reference to Aaron Echolls.

Agreeing that the restriction was fair, she had selected a light-hearted comedy. Anything of the horror variety would give her nightmares when she tried to go to bed in a few hours, her brain was too tired to follow the plot of an action movie, and Veronica Mars was not a "chick flick" kind of girl. That left a fun and stupid comedy to enjoy while winding down from their classes.

Unfortunately, Logan's plan to have Veronica alone for the evening was derailed when Dick came home about halfway through the movie. Apparently, it was one of his favorites, which he insisted upon exclaiming loudly before making a large gesture of hijacking their popcorn and plopping down between them on the couch.

"Look at the time; I probably should be heading home. It's a school night and dad doesn't like when I'm out past midnight," Veronica said, looking at the time when Dick walked in. She collected her trademark shoulder bag and made her way to the door.

Logan jumped up to follow her, walking her to the door, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, realizing how awkward he was being. Of course he would see her tomorrow; they had Biology together on Fridays, just like they had all semester. Correction: just like she had all semester. Sometimes Friday morning Biology just wasn't his thing. He had been making an effort all year with his classes, but whoever decided that an 8:30 a.m. class on Friday was a good idea did not participate in Thirsty Thursday.

"So, you'll be in class tomorrow then?" she asked, thinking of how many Friday afternoons Logan spent in the cafeteria copying her notes with a very distinctive pair of shades on.

He nodded and opened the door for her, continuing the awkwardness. Handshake? Too formal. Hug? Uncharacteristic. Kiss? No. What was the appropriate parting gesture for their situation? He met her eyes and noticed her smile and quick wave. Following suit, he waved back and closed the door behind her.

Logan didn't bother returning to the couch to finish the movie and instead opted for a beeline to his bedroom. "So are you and Ronnie like a thing again?" Dick asked from his spot, taking a large bite from his handful of twizzlers. When did he get twizzlers? "I… uh, wait," he said, dropping the twizzlers as he stood to take out his wallet. Inside he kept a post-it from Veronica, which read "I fear Veronica Mars," to remind him not to mess with her. "Right. Uh, be careful, she's scary," he concluded confidently.

"We're just friends, Dick, friends" Logan replied, his hand resting on the door, "good night." With that, he left his obviously high friend in the living room to fend for himself. If Logan was to actually make it to class in the morning, sleep would most certainly be required first. And setting an alarm; the alarm was important too.

Veronica's evening, however, was only just beginning. When she arrived home, her dad was already packing his bag, "hey honey, I'm sorry I have to do this. I just got the call that this bail jumper I've been tracking is close to the Mexico border. I have to go tonight." She had grown used to him being gone more now that she was in college and he could trust her to manage on her own for longer periods of time. After all, the bounties were usually a much larger income boost than most of the cases that walked in to Mars Investigations. For Veronica however, this meant staying up a little later to make her father's travel arrangements.

Finally, the petite blonde turned off the lights and checked the locks before heading to her room. It was well after midnight before she crawled into her bed to sleep with the knowledge that she had to wake up in less than seven hours. Thank goodness she had decided against a horror movie or she would have never fallen asleep.

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A/N 2: I loved all of your reviews. You guys are lovely. Seriously. Hugs for everyone. Or cookies. Your choice. Option C is all of the above. LOL. Anyway. Reviews are awesome. I have taken them to heart, for seriously, and I hope I do this justice.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I don't think I have anything to say other than you guys are awesome. Everyone pause for a second and give yourself a pat on the back.

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Chapter 3: Forgetting Becky Marshall

With the most obnoxious sound known to man waking him the next morning and a strategically placed phone across the room, Logan was successfully able to get out of bed on time in the morning. After a quick shower and about five minutes spent on his hair, he was ready to go with plenty of time to spare.

Veronica's morning was drastically different. The previous evening, with all of the commotion of her father leaving, she had forgotten to set her alarm. Thankfully her phone went off, alerting her of a new text message, not too long after her normal alarm should have woken her.

Mac wanted to know if Veronica was coming to breakfast in the cafeteria since they were serving her favorite Hearst breakfast dish: waffles. Veronica sent a quick reply to Mac, informing her of the situation and sadly declined, making a dash for the shower.

She chose make up over her blow dryer, opting to let her hair dry naturally and comfortable clothes over complicated. Looking into the fridge she remembered her father mentioning something the night before about forgetting to go to the grocery store. The cabinet lacking coffee confirmed that story and with a sigh she took Backup out for his morning walk empty-handed.

By the time she made it to campus and found a place to park, she was running later than usual. She made it to class just on time and spotted Logan sitting next to her empty desk. He had made it after all, and was early. Color her impressed.

He smiled at her as she took the chair next to him and handed her the coffee and muffin he had bought her on his way in; being early has its perks. Logan sat silently, sipping his own coffee, amused by the rare occurrence of Veronica Mars in frantic mode.

"Class, settle down," the professor began her lecture, "I understand there are only a few classes left, which is all the more reason to make them count. Today I will be assigning partners for our final project in this class. As you all remember in the syllabus, you, with your partner, will work on a presentation on one of the chapters we've covered this semester, one pair per chapter. I will give you the remainder of the class period to meet with your partner to discuss. So, without further delay… Samantha Alvarez and Matthew Yaz… Courtney Babylon and Amanda White…"

She continued pairing names in that fashion, first with last until they met up in the middle. Groans and cheers could be heard around the room as partners were announced. "Logan Echolls and…" she read down her list, "Becky Marshall."

Logan was disappointed; a group assignment would be the perfect excuse to spend some time together. He was so close too. Marshall. Mars. Really?

"Excuse me, Dr. Harris," a girl in the middle of the room said, raising her pen and cracking her gum, "Becky dropped this stupid class last week."

Apparently this girl also had an issue with the class, and it was heard in the sigh from Dr. Harris. She looked down her list again and penciled in a few changes, "well, that does work out for the best then. Now we have an even number. So, where was I…?" Dr. Harris adjusted her glasses and again looked to her list, "Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars."

After a few more names were read, Dr. Harris let the class split off into their pairs. Logan looked to Veronica who was typing away on her laptop. "So, did you happen to read our chapter?" she asked hopefully, turning to look at him.

Logan smiled and pulled the textbook from his bag, revealing it to still be in its shrink-wrapped plastic packaging, "which chapter was it?" It really didn't matter; he hadn't read a single page from that book.

"I'm impressed that you not only own and identified the correct book, but that you also brought it to class with you. Good job," Veronica said with a smile before finishing her coffee and putting the cup in the empty muffin bag. That surprise definitely made her morning, although she would never admit it.

It would appear that Friday morning classes weren't always bad things. "When did you want to work on this?" he asked, flipping through his notebook on the off chance he had notes on their assigned chapter, "Are you free this afternoon?"

"I was going to have lunch with Mac and Wallace in the cafeteria and then head home to let Backup out," she paused before clarifying, "Dad forgot to go to the store so there is like no food in the apartment. I should probably do that this afternoon as well. Maybe this weekend?"

Logan shook his head, "I'm going to TJ with Dick and Casey…" He stopped talking when he saw the disapproving look on her face. Instant fight, just add Mexico. "What?"

She looked away and crossed her arms, "nothing, just… nothing." Veronica thought of his track record with trips to Mexico. He went with Luke and Sean, brought back GHB, which ultimately lead to her rape. Not his fault, but still associated with a trip of his to Mexico. He used Mexico as an alibi for Lilly's murder, which did not end well. He went to Mexico with Troy and Luke, which was a complete mess that she somehow got involved in. He was "with" Mercer in Mexico during one of the rapes and the hotel burned down and they left like cowards. Honestly, why did he keep going to Mexico?

"No, go ahead, tell me," Logan pushed, trying not to get angry. She always hated his trips to Mexico.

She looked around the classroom, "I'm not having this discussion with you, not here, not now."

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A/N: I know. I'm awful. But I had to. I really had to have them fight. That was the point, wasn't it? Go ahead, use that lovely box down there to tell me how much you hate me for having them argue. It's okay. I can take it.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: So, I really was working on two different versions of this chapter and as a final hour decision I decided on this one. Maybe at the end, I will upload a "chapter" of deleted/alternate scenes for this story. There are a few minor things that still bugged me about this, though, that seem a little ooc, but, I think need to be there to progress the story a bit/bring them together. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one because I like it. Oh, also, I don't think I've explicitly stated this, but Keith Mars (in this fic) didn't win the election for sheriff. I keep trying to put stuff in about that and then think it is irrelevant and remove it, but I have things in mind where this may come to play later, so just store that little nugget o knowledge in the back of your brains for a bit. One last thing: the next chapter (five) I love to pieces, for reals. It's still rough and needs editing, but the fun level of it makes me so happy and I really hope you guys will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. That is all.

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Chapter 4: Burning Truth

Veronica sat in the kitchen, her books spread across the table, working on a paper while her dinner cooked in the oven. She didn't even want to begin thinking about working on the presentation with Logan. Perhaps she could just do it herself while he spent the weekend doing God knows what in Tijuana.

It wasn't until she noticed Backup sitting in front of the door growling did she remove her headphones to hear the knock on the door. With a sigh she stood and answered the door to find Logan outside. "Is this a better time?" he asked, leaning against the door frame.

She moved aside and allowed him to enter, crossing her arms, "I thought you'd be halfway to Mexico by now." Her tone was flat; this wasn't a game.

He moved around, taking in the appearance of the space even though he had been there hundreds of times before. "I came back from class pissed off because of our fight and Dick wouldn't let me go. He didn't want my bad mood to ruin the trip so they left without me. Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," Veronica snapped, sarcastically, "now, if there isn't anything else you'd like to blame me for, I have a paper that could really use my attention." It was at that precise moment the timer on the oven decided to go off, reminding her of the dinner she was preparing.

Veronica walked around him, allowing her arms to fall to her sides, as she made her way over to the oven to take her dinner out. Such a simple task was ruined by her anger when she burned her hand on the hot oven, not paying attention. Cursing under her breath, she dropped the dish and the towel she used (in place of an oven mitt) on the stove before inspecting her injury.

Logan's first instinct was to help her; kiss it and make it better. He moved closer to her, taking her injured hand into his own to assess her injury before leading her to the bathroom in search of burn cream. It wasn't a serious injury, but Logan refused to take any chances.

She returned to the kitchen when he finished fussing over her; her hand wrapped in gauze, perhaps an overzealous first-aid attempt. "Well, since you're here, do you want to have dinner and work on our presentation?" she asked, again busying herself in the kitchen, her voice deflated. Not even two days after their conversation and they were already fighting. Even though she sometimes had trouble admitting it to herself, she secretly wanted them to work.

"What's the real reason, Ronnie?" he asked, using an old nickname. Maybe if they were to get past this, they needed to actually start resolving fights instead of sidestepping them by breaking up. She handed him a plate and he followed her to the couch; obviously he was staying.

Veronica ate silently for a moment before acknowledging his question, "reason for what? Asking you to stay for dinner? Sorry to burst that bubble, Logan, but I'm not actually trying to get you into bed." For the first time that evening she allowed herself to smile at her own wit. Sometimes she could really amuse herself.

Dinner was delicious, simple, but delicious. He hadn't realized how much he missed home-cooked foods until that moment and thought maybe he should make more of an effort to cook. "What do you have against Mexico?" he clarified, taking another bite. Man, she could cook.

They sat in silence for another moment. Anyone watching would have fast-forwarded the conversation by now. "I can't bail you out anymore, Logan," she said finally. "Let's be honest, you don't have the best track record when it comes to trips to Mexico: Mercer and Troy and…" _Lilly's death_: the unfinished thought that stopped at her lips. She couldn't bring that up.

She didn't have to; he understood what she was getting at. "I know they start out innocent enough," Veronica continued when he said nothing, "but somehow things just always happen and I just can't help you if something happened this time."

"So basically," Logan finally responded, "you need to work on trusting me more…" he held up a finger to halt her protests before taking a breath to finish his sentence, "and I need to work on being more trustworthy." For the first time that evening, she agreed with him, and with that resolution they were able to enjoy their food and make significant progress on their presentation.

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A/N: So the box right below this really loves attention, almost as much as the original Lilly Kane. Seriously. So, maybe you could honor her a bit and show it a little love. You guys are awesome.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm sorry about the time jump, I just kind of wanted to get to summer vacation and having a few uneventful weeks is pretty standard in any kind of relationship between two people, so I fast forwarded a bit. Also, I make reference to a game in this chapter called Apples to Apples. If you are not familiar with this game, I would advise looking it up since I didn't exactly explain the game in this chapter. I happen to love this game, and it is part of the reason why I love this chapter so much. I don't know how many of you guys had regular game nights in college, but I did and I thought that they were great.

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Chapter 5: Stupid Donuts

"So, what are you doing tonight, maybe we could celebrate finishing finals?" Logan asked, catching up with Veronica after their Biology final. The past few weeks had gone well, without any arguments, but the status of their relationship remained unchanged. Unfortunately, it seemed that every attempt he made to get them alone was disrupted by someone.

She turned around to look at him; slowing her pace to allow him to catch up. "Sure. My dad's out of town again, why don't you come by around eight?" she suggested, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder.

Veronica smiled to herself, knowing what the situation sounded like, however, that is not what would happen on that particular evening. Logan would not be getting Veronica alone, in her apartment, like he thought he would be. Instead, he would be walking into game night.

They all took turns hosting, Wallace and Piz, Mac and Parker, and Veronica, and sharing in their collections of board and card games. Yes, it was lame and dorky and yes, they loved every minute of it and each game provided a new way to get to know each other better.

Logan was definitely surprised when he showed up to Veronica's door to find Wallace, Piz, and Dick already there. Dick? What was going on? "Logan, you made it," Dick greeted his friend with a large hug. Someone had clearly pre-gamed. No one was really sure how Dick got involved with game nights, but he religiously showed up and his child-like enthusiasm was always welcomed.

Piz, however, was not thrilled when Logan showed up. He was still holding out hope that Veronica would change her mind and come back to him. Now _he_ was at _their_ game night. Whatever game they were playing, Piz decided that he would try his hardest to decimate Logan and prove he was the better man.

With the next knock on the door, Dick jumped up and swung it open, "Mackie!" he cried, grabbing her for another elaborate hug. Everyone, except Logan, laughed at the insane sight that was Dick and Mac as Mac awkwardly patted Dick's head like a puppy. When he finally released her, he led her over to a spot on the couch next to him. "Mackie's my good luck charm," he explained to no one in particular.

"So, what are we playing tonight?" Parker asked as she arranged the snacks on the coffee table. There was everything from sweet to salty and crunchy to gummy in assorted bowls and bags on the table. She was quite certain that the delicious treats that appeared every game night were the cause of her "freshman" fifteen that showed up sophomore year.

Veronica pulled out a box from a shopping bag on the kitchen counter, "Well, originally, we were going to play Clue, one of my favorite games ever," she said with a knowing smile as everyone groaned, "but then I saw this at the store today and thought we could give it a try." She removed the plastic wrap from the box and set it down on the table in the middle of the snacks. "It's called Apples to Apples," she read from the box, before returning to the kitchen to throw away the wrap.

Wallace lifted the lid and pulled out the instruction sheet, explaining the game to everyone in the room. It was simple enough and easy to follow and soon the cards were dealt. At first they played literally, adjective and best noun until it was Dick's turn to choose a winner.

He had chosen the adjective "masculine" and read through the cards played before asking "who put down 'feathers?'"

Mac timidly raised her hand next to him and he laughed, declaring feathers to be the most masculine of all. After a few protests from other players, he stood by his decision on the grounds that he found it funny. Soon after the game loosened up a bit and ridiculous answers began flowing freely.

The connection between Veronica and Logan could not be missed. Try as they might, they could not stop choosing each other's answers. Piz was getting annoyed by that and more so by the fact that he couldn't stop choosing Parker's answers. Seriously, some of the choices Veronica and Logan selected just didn't make sense to anyone else. "How are donuts idiotic?" Piz questioned in the middle of the game. Truthfully, everyone else was wondering the same thing.

"Lilly" they said in unison before sharing a laugh. No one else would understand that. No one ever could. It was as if Lilly had orchestrated the whole thing herself, placing "donut" in Veronica's hand, and putting "idiotic" at the top of the pile when Logan drew. Neither one found themselves thinking of Lilly as often anymore, but sometimes in a situation, like this one, Lilly wouldn't let herself be forgotten.

How could they explain it? The words seemed to fall short. _Our friend Lilly nicknamed her stupid brother donut?_ Yeah, that would work; everyone would instantly understand the situation and laugh.

On Veronica's next turn, she drew the adjective "sexy" and placed the green card on the table. Upon collecting her red cards, a blush appeared across her face and she eyed Logan; he was silently challenging her with a smirk. Matching his grin, she put down the winning card before discarding the rest, "Knee socks. Knee socks are completely sexy," she declared, accepting his challenge. Logan reached across the table and collected the green card as everyone else watched, accepting that it was another inside joke they would never understand.

It was shortly after that that the game was cleaned up and everyone said their goodbyes, parting ways until August. The moment was broken and all that was left were Veronica and Logan standing in her living room, alone, together.

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A/N: I was trying to convey in this chapter the long history and deep connection that Logan and Veronica have. Out of all of the people in that room, they've known each other the longest. Even when they're "just friends" they still have something between them that no one else can touch. Plus, this chapter pretty much got rid of everyone for the summer (which I will explain in the next chapter) leaving Logan and Veronica alone in Neptune. Also, reviews are lovely. Each review sends someone else away from Neptune for the summer lol ;) I'm going to stop shamelessly begging now.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: So, I'm super proud of myself for this because I'm pretty sure it is the longest chapter I've written so far. Yay. Also, I know you guys are going to really hate me for not finishing the scene I left off with in the last chapter. I was going to. But. I haven't exactly finalized what I wanted to happen there and I will show it, but it will be in flashbacks when the time comes, because I have a plan. I do. I think. Some days. Anyway, this chapter takes place a few weeks after the last one. It's summer time, the summer between sophomore and junior year at Hearst. Uh, not that it's really super relevant to the story right now but Dick is in the islands with his dad, Wallace is in Chicago with his dad, Piz and Parker went back to wherever they came from for the summer (I couldn't remember exactly.. Beaverton and Colorado?) and Mac got an internship with NIST in the D.C. area. So. Everyone is gone. Literally gone. Left California gone. What is our favorite noncouple to do? Rely on each other, duh.

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Chapter 6: For the Love of the Surf

Like clockwork, Logan appeared at the door of Mars Investigations with a bag of takeout. He had been showing up every day lately, usually with food. Veronica brushed it off as either loneliness or boredom since Dick left to spend the summer in the islands with his father. It wasn't that she minded either, since all of her friends happened to be scattered across the country at the moment, it was a nice change of pace to rely on Logan.

"What's in the bag?" she asked excitedly; her eyes lighting up at the sight of him. Veronica closed her laptop and put away the case file she had been working on to make room for lunch on her desk. "You are certainly giving Wallace a run for his title of 'best friend,' you know," she said with a laugh, trying to take the bag from him.

Logan liked to consider every day he had lunch with her a "mini-date" of sorts, and for the most part they were enjoyable. They were certainly interrupted less often, since all of their combined friends were out of Neptune for the summer, though on occasion a client would walk in signaling his cue to leave. He spread out the take out containers on the desk between them, knowing exactly what she liked from every place in town and putting her favorite in front of her. "This is exactly what I was craving," Veronica gushed, dipping her chopsticks into the container.

"So," Logan continued, taking a bite of his own food, "I was thinking maybe you could cut out of here a few hours early today and we could go surfing." He took the opportunity of catching her with her mouth full to continue, "I know that the filing is done and that you're pretty much caught up on your cases. I will have you back with plenty of time to spare before you need to do surveillance tonight."

He certainly had a point, her afternoon was completely free, but she still wasn't sure, "I'm not dressed for the occasion." Excuse number one.

"Go home and change," he countered. Today he had come prepared.

Veronica, however, was not known to give up without a fight, "I don't own a surfboard." Excuse number two.

"I have a spare," Logan countered with a smirk.

She crossed her arms and leaned forward in her chair, "I don't know how to surf." Excuse number three.

"I can teach you," he responded, matching her movements.

Excuses were getting harder to come by, "we just ate. You can't swim an hour after eating." Excuse number four.

"By the time we both get changed and get to the beach, the hour will have passed," Logan again countered.

Running out of excuses she finally agreed and met him at the beach an hour later in just about the tiniest bikini she owned and the smallest pair of jean shorts over top and no shirt, just to mess with him. If she was going to be there and go surfing, she was not going to make it easy for him to focus on teaching her how to surf.

Veronica grabbed the beach bag she had packed from her car before walking over to the spot where she noticed Logan waiting. "I hope this is all right," she said when she reached him and gestured to her outfit with an evil grin, "It's all I could find on such short notice."

Logan bit down on his finger to keep himself from saying anything as he watched her shimmy out of her tight shorts and toss them on top of her bag. He always thought she looked amazing in blue, but an itsy bitsy teeny weenie blue polka dot string bikini was too much.

Could she be on to his plan? Veronica was certainly one of the smartest people he had ever met and he wouldn't put it past her to have figured it out. "Right, so, how about we get in the water?" he suggested, needing the distraction. He couldn't think about it at that moment.

"One second, I need to tie my hair back," Veronica reminded and bent over to reach into her bag for a hair tie. Once her blonde hair was secure in a messy bun on top of her head, she nodded and followed him to the water, carrying his extra surfboard.

Sitting on their surfboards in the water, Logan was going over basic technique on how to surf and pointing out form on other surfers already on their boards until Veronica stopped him, "I might have understated my surfing ability a little earlier," she said simply before lying down on the surfboard and paddling out to the wave. Veronica certainly wouldn't be winning any surfing competitions any time soon, but she wasn't terrible either. Logan was impressed and mentally added "surfing" to the pro-list in his head.

After a few hours in the water, the pair made their way back to the beach where they left their towels. Checking the time on her phone, Veronica sat down on her towel. She still had some time to kill before she had to go catch a cheating spouse in action. "When did you learn how to surf?" Logan sat down next to her on his own towel.

"Two years ago?" Veronica replied as more of a question than a statement, grabbing a water bottle from her bag, "I helped this kid out and he paid me in surf lessons. It was when we were dating, after I came back from New York. Surfing is important to you and I was going to surprise you but we… uh… we broke up before that happened." Veronica took a drink from the bottle before offering it to Logan, "So, uh, surprise?"

Logan took the bottle from her and finished it off; surfing really made him thirsty. He smiled at her, touched by her gesture, "Thanks." The pair sat in silence for a while, the moment hanging between them. Veronica wasn't well versed in saying how she felt about people, and given her line of work, actions definitely spoke louder than words. She had never once uttered the words "I love you" to him. Yet, something as simple as learning to surf showed him that she really did, at least at one point in time, feel it. "Why did you never say it?" he asked softly, turning his head to look at her as she lay on her beach towel allowing the sun to dry her.

"Because we were broken up?" she asked, pausing between each word. Didn't she just say that?

Of course she knew what he meant, but she didn't want to talk about it. They had just had a pleasant afternoon together, but them being them, they had to end it with a fight.

He could hear her sigh, "Let's not ruin this, okay? We had a really great day and…" Veronica trailed off looking to the sun, low in the sky, "I really should get going. I need to shower and change and get dinner and I have things to do." She sat up and began to gather her things into her bag, frustrated that he wouldn't leave it alone.

Logan placed his hands on top of hers, "I said I'd let you go in time to get to work, and I will, but just know that this conversation isn't over and running from it isn't going to change that." With that, he allowed her to finish packing up her belongings and leave the beach before he lay back on his towel rubbing his hands on his face.

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A/N: So, reviews are lovely. I'm sure you know the story by now lol. I know. I left it with a fight again, but I felt the chapter was getting a little long and I needed to end it. plus cooldown times are great. And, I want to keep you on the edges of your chairs dying to find out what happens next because I'm mean and evil and (insert other uncool adjective here).


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So, here is the resolution to that. I was writing this and I got to the end and I realized something which sort of altered my ending a bit. Anyway, I think this is good because I completely like it better. I also think that the next chapter will be the one that contains the flashbacks from the "missing scene" lol because I think I've figured out how I want to handle that. It will either be the next chapter (8) or the following one (9) depending on the set-up but I won't tell you whats going to happen. Okay, enough of my rambling and teasing. Enjoy!

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Chapter 7: I Rapture You!

Sitting in her car, snapping pictures of a man kissing a woman that was not his wife, Veronica thought about earlier that evening. Before leaving the house to meet up with his mistress, this man had kissed his wife good bye and said "I love you." Who did that? Who told his wife that he loved her right before he went to have sex with someone else?

They all did it: told their significant others "I love you" before having sex with someone else. The words really didn't mean anything anymore. Then it hit her. Satisfied she had gotten the "money shot" she put her camera in the seat next to her and started the car.

Instead of going home, Veronica drove straight to the Neptune Grand and soon found herself knocking on the door of the penthouse suite. It was late, she probably shouldn't be there; he was probably asleep.

"Veronica?" he said, sleepily, when he opened the door and saw her standing there, "Did something happen? Are you okay?" It was after midnight, why was she at his door?

She stepped around him and entered the suite, pacing for a moment before saying anything. "Does it bother you?" she finally asked, "you know, that I've never said it?"

He sat on the couch and grabbed her hand for her to join him. "Well," he began and thought about his words. He could be blunt and honest or he could sugarcoat it and hope she understood how he felt. "Yes," blunt honesty it is.

She nodded, never realizing until that day that it was even a problem, "I was thinking about what you said tonight and…"

"We don't have to talk about it tonight…" he interrupted, knowing she had to work in the morning and didn't want to keep her up too late. He did want to talk about it, but he didn't want her to be tired in the morning either.

Veronica turned to face him, "No, I need to say this. For four years, I've been working for my dad watching couples lie and cheat on each other. This guy tonight literally told his wife 'I love you' before walking out the door to meet his mistress. Who does that?" Her mother did that. How many times had her mother told her father she loved him before going to have sex with Jake Kane? She paused for a moment, looking at her hands.

"I guess what I'm trying to say," She continued, "is if that's what people do when they love each other, then I don't want to be in love."

He thought for a moment and then pulled out his iPhone and did a search. Veronica looked confused for a moment until he showed her the screen, "synonyms for 'love,'" he clarified what she was looking at. "You don't want to be in 'love' and I seek validation. Solution: choose another word that means the same thing," he said simply. It was actually quite brilliant.

Veronica was still a little confused, but looked at the list of words anyway. "Personally, I like rapture," he said with a laugh.

She shared his laugh, "But Logan, we're not even dating, this is kind of a non-issue, isn't it?"

Logan shook his head, "Nope. We will pick out a word now and officially settle the issue. This way, when we date and want to communicate the emotion of strong adoration, the word will already be in play."

His statement caused her to raise her eyebrows at him, "When?"

"You agreed to give me another shot, which I fully plan on taking, just not yet. I'm not going to waste it on a 'summer romance,'" Logan used air-quotes around the words. It would be best to break the cycle and start their relationship in any season but summer.

She nodded, "Okay, rapture it is, but I have to warn you, people are going to think we're crazy when we start walking around saying 'See you later, I rapture you.'" Veronica couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the statement.

Her matching use of "when" wasn't lost on Logan, "I am perfectly okay with that. We don't need all of those other people, anyway." He thought back to the first time he announced her as his girlfriend. Ugh. People. Why did they have to exist?

Veronica stood, "I should probably go. I didn't tell my dad I was coming here and I don't want him to worry. I mean, I was just on surveillance, I don't want him to think something happened to me." Her father understood that she was 19 and not a baby anymore and didn't enforce a strict curfew. However, he did prefer that she call if she was going to be out later than expected, since they still shared an apartment and he worried about her as fathers do. "This was good, though. Will I see you tomorrow?" she asked, walking towards the door, preparing herself for another awkward departure.

Logan again walked her to the door, "Oh, and Veronica?"

"Yeah," she asked, reaching the door.

He smiled and opened it for her, "Soon."

Veronica nodded and smiled, knowing exactly what he meant. And that night? That night would go down as just another "inside joke" between them that no one else would ever understand.

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A/N: So cheesy lol. Anyway, I know it wasn't another huge blow-up fight. I tried to. I originally had Logan slip up and compare her to Lilly, in the sense that he always loved Lilly more than Lilly loved him and when Veronica doesn't say I love you back, it kind of feels that way, which would then create an even bigger fight because that just isn't cool but I kind of didn't like that so much because it just didn't flow right and as much as I love the character of Lilly Kane, this is a LoVe story and it didn't really work. Plus, I couldn't see Logan saying anything bad about Lilly like that. So, hopefully you liked the choices I did make for this. I have a couple of things planned for upcoming chapters which is awesome. Also, I actually did look up synonyms for love for this chapter and then looked up the definition of rapture, because I didn't believe it at first either. Also, I had to look up the release date of the iPhone because I didn't want to give Logan a smart phone in 2008 and not have it exist yet. So, I'm glad that it did exist and in its iPhone 3 state at that, newly released in July 2008, fun fact for everyone. Okay. Done rambling. Review if you feel so compelled.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Okay, so here goes. The chapter you've been waiting for. The one with a few flashbacks. I'm keeping it at a T rating, but if you think that it's a little too much, let me know and I'll change it. It can be noted that the italics at the end are the promised flashbacks of what happened post-game night. I still want to include a few more flashbacks from that night, what happened before that, but without giving too many details, I'm just going to say it was an intense conversation, intense in a good way, not like yelling and screaming but more of comfort and support. Originally, I had Veronica skyping to Mac about this when Logan came over, but uh, it kind of violated the "never discussing this" thing I had going on so I dropped that.

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Chapter 8: Backup Has a Sixth Sense

Logan showed up to Mars Investigations at lunchtime, like usual, with a bag of food. However, he was a bit surprised to find Veronica's chair empty. She normally texted him if she had to run out during lunch for a case. He quickly checked his phone to make sure he didn't miss anything.

"She didn't come in today," Keith Mars said, stepping out of his office when he heard the door. He thought it might be Logan.

Logan looked up from his phone, "What?"

"Veronica, she took the day off from work today. Are you two fighting again?" Keith asked. He didn't want to get involved in their relationship, but it would explain why Veronica didn't want to come in.

He shook his head, "No, not that I'm aware of." Logan thought for a moment, had they made plans for that day that he forgot about? He knew Veronica wouldn't be thrilled with him if that was the case.

"Well as far as I know, she's at home if you want to swing by," Keith said and returned to his office. That was going to be the extent of his involvement in this.

Logan sat in his car and debated driving over to her apartment. If he had forgotten something, she would likely be upset and not want him there. If she didn't come to work, she probably wanted to be alone. Pretty much every scenario he could think of ended with her wanting to be alone on that particular day.

However, Logan shoved the key into the ignition and drove over there anyway. If she was mad, he figured it would be best to just rip off the band-aid and get it over with. If not, well, he had already gotten lunch and the least he could do was deliver it to her.

When he arrived at her door, he really didn't have to knock, since Backup was already barking at him. That dog seriously had a sixth sense for whenever he was around. Soon after the barking began, he could hear light footsteps approaching the door, and then the door swung open.

"Sorry I didn't text you," Veronica said, and noticed the bag of food, "I just kind of felt like being alone today. I'm sorry you went to the trouble, but I'm actually on a strict diet of ice cream right now."

He took in her look. She was wearing pink and black, plaid pajama shorts with a black, tight-fitting tank top and her hair was pulled back into a pony-tail high on her head. Logan also noticed she hadn't bothered with make-up. "Are you okay?" he asked, hoping she would invite him in to talk about why she wanted to be alone.

Veronica looked back to the couch and then back at Logan. _They were sitting closer than normal on the couch; his arm slowly dropped from around her shoulders to around her waist. It seemed like time had stopped and the rest of the world melted away. The only thing that existed was that moment and then their eyes met._

"I'm fine," she responded, looking away, wanting to just spend the day alone.

Logan knew immediately that she was anything but fine. _Their lips met for the first time in over a year and soon their tongues were battling for dominance. He pushed her back onto the couch, hovering over her, before his lips met her flesh again, placing hot kisses down her neck and sucking lightly on her pulse point causing her to moan._

"Veronica," he warned. They had always been honest with each other, and to blatantly break that now, he knew something was wrong.

She stepped aside and focused her attention elsewhere. _She twined her fingers in his hair, an attempt to keep his lips there, delivering pleasure. It had been a rough night and the need to be closer was unbearable. His fingers played with the button on her jeans as his lips made their way back to her own._

"Sit," she offered, closing the door behind him.

Logan purposefully chose the chair over the couch. _Flesh on flesh. The barriers of clothing were gone, and yet they still weren't close enough. "Be gentle," she requested, "it's been a while." He nodded in understanding, placing another kiss on her lips; this time it was soft and gentle._

"What's wrong?" he finally asked, waiting for her to join him in the living room.

Veronica remained frozen in her spot at the door. _The pair lay still for a while. Wrapped in each other's arms, taking in each other's presence; neither said a word. They knew it was a mistake; it shouldn't have happened. Yet, they both needed that moment to last, just a while longer._

"I'm late," Veronica said finally, not moving any closer to him.

Logan's face twisted in confusion. _He placed one final kiss on her forehead before breaking the spell and getting up. She sat up and pulled her knees into her chest, watching him get dressed and leave wordlessly. They both were painfully aware that from that moment forward, that had never happened._

"For what?" he asked, wondering why she had allowed him to enter if she needed to be somewhere.

Again, she remained planted in her spot, despite his mental willing her to move closer. "No, Logan," she began carefully, "I'm _late_."

She watched his eyes widen with understanding and felt awful. He stood from the chair and walked over to her, "as in you're pregnant?"

Veronica couldn't meet his gaze and shrugged, "I don't know. I haven't taken a test yet, but my periods have always been so… punctual." God, what an awful pun.

Suddenly the unspoken rule about _that night_ was broken. It was never supposed to happen and in their minds, it didn't. Now, they had to face it.

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A/N: Again, if you think this is a little too risque for a T-rating, I will change it, but I think, if I remember to do it after I upload this chapter, I will put a stronger warning in the description for this story about this chapter. I tried to be really tasteful and not explicit. Also, hate me if you must for not including the "scene" where it belonged exactly but I think it works better this way.

P.S. If you want to follow my real life because for some odd reason you think I'm a pretty cool chick or whatever you can find me -at- Jes_Garshell on the tweet machine


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: So, now for the continuation of that... are they or aren't they? You're about to find out. I kind of like the parallels of Logan and Veronica in this chapter. While they haven't had the same experiences, they still can share in the fears of being a bad parent, given that they've each had their share of bad parents. I also got to address another (little?) thing that I thought may have been a crack in the foundation of their relationship, so I hope I did them justice. Enjoy!

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Chapter 9: Finally.

After a quick trip to the drugstore, they were back at her apartment, waiting. The package said that it would take three minutes, but to the pair of them, it felt much longer. This could be one of those moments, the moments that change lives.

"Do you want kids?" she asked, barely above a whisper as she hugged her knees closer to her body. It seemed like as good a time as ever to ask.

Logan was taken off-guard by the question. He had never really thought about the possibility of having children. Did he want kids; little humans running around calling him 'daddy?' He thought to his own father, a very troubled man. Could he ever do a thing like that to his own child? His father, after being beaten himself by his father, certainly could.

The thought terrified him. What if one day he just lost control of himself? Logan didn't think he would ever be able to forgive himself if he laid a hand on his own child. No, he couldn't have children. He simply couldn't risk becoming the monster that his father was.

Yet, thinking about a blonde-haired, blue-eyed little girl with all of the sass of her mother warmed his heart; a promise that he would never have to be alone again. He could begin to rebuild his family on his own terms, starting with a strong foundation and completely changing the connotation of the Echolls name. However, the fears still outweighed the possibilities.

"I wouldn't be a good father," he finally answered, looking away. Well, it was more of avoiding the question than answering, but he couldn't bring himself to admit that he might want something that could never happen.

No sooner had he said those words than she was by his side, "Logan, that's not true. I know you would never hurt your own child. Look at me," she demanded, sensing all of his fears, all of his doubts. She had known him since they were twelve years old, though good and bad, and knew the difference between the real Logan and the Logan he showed the rest of the world. "How many times have we fought? Where I've just been so stubborn and refuse to back down, putting myself in dangerous situations, not listened to you. We fight, we yell, but you've never once raised a hand in anger towards me. You would do anything to prevent someone from hurting me. I know that you would do the same thing for your child, too," Veronica calmed, taking his hands and smiling, "Plus, having a kid might give you a healthy outlet for all of those protective tendencies that you have."

She thought about a strong little boy with his loving heart. With his father's good looks and charm, he could grow up to be a real heartbreaker. With her input, however, no one would call him a "psychotic jackass," but would she always be there to guide him along? Her own mother had left her, choosing the bottle above her own child, lost in the past of a first love. What if she had those same flighty genes? Would her child grow up to hate her too?

"Do you?" he asked, noticing her lost in thought. They might as well get this conversation out of the way. Didn't all girls decide when they were like ten how many kids they wanted and what they were going to name them? He was sure that Lilly and Veronica must have talked about this at least once over playing dolls or something.

Veronica couldn't meet his gaze, "at this moment in my life, I know that I don't. I still want to do things; see the world. I can't help but think that if I have a kid right now, that my need to get out might overpower me and I'd turn into my mother. God, what a pair are we?" she laughed at the absurdity.

"Do you still love Duncan?" he asked quietly.

She pulled back from him, "What? No! How is this related?"

"Your mom, the reason she left was because she never really got past Jake Kane. It was always him, for her, you know? The one. And it drove her crazy. And that unhappiness led her to drink and ultimately leave. Duncan's the only other guy you've ever loved, if you were going to abandon your kid for someone, it would be for him, wouldn't it?" he explained, hoping she didn't take it the wrong way.

For a long time it had been a weird tennis match between the pair. She was with Duncan first. Then, Duncan left town and she was with him. Duncan came back and they got together. Duncan fled again, this time it seemed permanently and suddenly she was back in his arms. Back and forth. Why wouldn't Logan think that if Duncan ever came back to town, Veronica would run right back to him? It was, after all, Duncan's turn.

The realization hit her. Had Logan always felt that he came second to Duncan? That given the chance, she would go back to him? "Not Duncan. It was never Duncan. Logan, I'm not here, with you, because I can't have Duncan. I chose to stay. If I was going to abandon my child to be with anyone, it would be you," she was crying now and Veronica Mars rarely cried.

Logan pulled her into his arms and held her, no longer caring what the little stick of plastic said. If it was positive, they would figure it out. If it was negative, well, they certainly had gotten something from this experience: another potential fight resolved. Maybe if they solved everything before getting back together, they wouldn't have anything to fight over. Though, knowing Veronica, she'd find something: what's for dinner or what to watch on television, but he could handle those fights.

"I think maybe I should move out of the Grand," he said after a thought, "Not because of this, I mean this would be a very compelling reason to, but I can't live in a hotel forever." He was about to be a junior in college and had zero life plans. Only last semester had he finally declared a major, and that was more because he had to than he had decided. How was college going by so quickly? How was life going by so quickly?

Veronica nodded, "that might be a good idea, probably more financially responsible as well. I can't imagine the rent on your own apartment to be more per month than what you're already paying at the Grand."

Logan laughed: Veronica, always the sensible one. "Actually, I was thinking more of a house, near the beach, with like plenty of open space for partying and poker nights. I'll have to talk to Dick when he gets back," he said, thinking of how lonely the suite was without Dick there. Logan quite liked having a roommate and Dick filled that spot nicely.

However, that was not the moment to be making plans. Their future was still in the air for a few more seconds. Logan gave her a quick squeeze as the final seconds ticked down. Tick. Tick. Tick.

The timer dinged and they shared a look before Logan released Veronica from his arms. She walked into the bathroom, where she left the test on the sink and looked at it. Logan was right behind her.

Veronica turned to him with a huge smile on her face, "it's negative. Negative!"

Relief washed over both of their faces, "so, _that night_, officially and completely forgotten?" he asked now that it was over. It wasn't meant to happen.

She put a finger to her chin as though she had to think about it, "If you buy me dinner."

"Of course," Logan smiled, happy that nothing had changed and she was making his plan so much easier. Veronica had pretty much asked him to take her out on a "date" somewhere.

* * *

A/N: I just couldn't do it. I had some other things I could have done, other options I had written and ultimately, this one won out. I thought of going positive and having a false positive, but that really isn't realistic. It is more common to get a false negative than a false positive on those tests, not that I'm saying it's a false negative. It's a real negative. I also thought about a miscarriage, but that's pretty dark and I think given the fragile state of their relationship at this point, it would break them. I thought about abortion, but I just couldn't see Veronica doing that. I'd bet money on her being pro-choice, but I think she would choose life for herself. Just a thought. I also thought about giving them a baby, but putting them together out of obligation didn't seem right for them either. So, no baby. I liked this resolution because it gave them an excuse to talk about things (fears) that they had and their relationship can come out stronger because of it. Anyway, I would love to hear your thoughts instead of just my own, so if you feel so compelled, type away in the little box below and hit some button down there that sends them to me. I love... uh... rapture you guys lol


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: So, after all the drama that I've been throwing at this poor couple, I thought I would give them a chapter off of sweet fluffy goodness. It's cute. It's light. It's fun. It makes me smile, darnit. I really don't have much else to say other than I see the end of summer quickly approaching and predict a few people to be returning to Neptune soon. In the meantime, our favorite couple gets to spend a very fun evening at the carnival. Oh, speaking of that, I mentioned getting old time photos. I'm not sure if that's a thing elsewhere like it is here. Usually they're done at the beach, but for anyone who doesn't know, they're novelties. Basically they provide the scene and the costumes/props for you to wear and they set you up in an old-fashioned scene (a saloon, various rooms of an antiquated house, etc) and take photos of you looking like you're from the time period, usually in sepia-tone and then you buy them and these old-fashioned looking frames to put them in. Anyway, pretty straight forward. Just thought I would add a little disclaimer about that.

* * *

Chapter 10: I Luv You Beary Much

On a particularly mild evening that summer, Logan convinced Veronica to spend the evening with him at the carnival on the pier. It hadn't taken much arm twisting, since Veronica was quite the little kid at heart, and after their scare not too long ago, they needed a night of drama-free fun.

"So," he said, taking her hand and pulling her aside once they successfully entered the gates, as to not lose her in the crowd, "What would you like to do first? Cotton candy? Ferris wheel? Fun house?" His other hand, of its own volition, reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Her eyes lit up when she saw the carousel, "Pony!" she pointed past his shoulder, jumping with excitement. She gave him her best pout face, which earned her a grin from Logan.

"Lead the way," he said, holding up their joined hands, unable to control the smile on his face. Although he never understood the origins of her pony fascination, he had to admit that it was adorable. Veronica Mars could go from badass crime fighter one minute to sweet innocent little girl the next at the mention of a pony.

He didn't even mind when they stood in line amongst many, many children. Or when the line to get on the ride was actually several times longer than the ride itself. Or even how incredibly awkward he was on a carousel horse that was not designed for a grown man over six feet tall.

Veronica laughed at the way her tried to squeeze himself onto the tiny horse as the ride began and snapped a quick picture on her phone, making a mental note to use it as his call I.D. picture later. "You laugh now," He warned, "but I will find something to get my revenge."

"I'll believe that when I see it," she responded with a smirk as they exited the ride, resuming their previous hand holding position. If she ever questioned the gesture, he would simply say he didn't want to lose her in the crowd. It wouldn't be a lie, but it certainly wouldn't be a whole truth either.

She pointed across the crowd to an old time photos shop. "We should get our picture taken," Veronica suggested, thinking of the wonderful poses they could do in a classic bar scene. The line wasn't too long and they were quickly getting changed into their outfits for the photos.

Veronica had chosen a costume of a rather revealing saloon girl, outfitted with fishnets, a garter (with a wad of cash tucked inside), a large hat and a feather boa. She had chosen a pistol and a bottle of Jack as props before situating herself on top of the bar for the picture.

She took a couple of solo shots before Logan came out to join her, dressed in full gangster attire. He had a cigar and an old machine gun for props. He tried to keep his face in check when he saw her sitting on the bar, dressed in such an outfit, but it proved to be difficult.

As soon as he took his place, the photographer began arranging them; their limbs becoming intertwined. He looked with a straight face towards the camera, mustering his inner gangster as she looked sultrily at him. Her fingers were posed on his face, about to turn his head to look at her.

Veronica could turn it on, passion flaring in her eyes, want in her fingertips. Then, as soon as the shoot was done, she turned it off. Straight back to friends, laughing. Logan was stunned and amazed with her performance. He was the son of a Hollywood actor, but she was the one that could act.

Within a few minutes, they were allowed to see the takes and choose the photos they wanted to purchase. "How long have you two been dating?" the man who showed them the pictures asked as he flipped through them.

"We're not," Veronica said quickly, "we're just friends," and she gestured between them to accent her statement. They watched the man shake his head and mumble something resembling "I wish I had a friend like that" to himself.

Soon they were picking antiquated frames and leaving the attraction, bag in hand. These were by far the best novelty gifts they had ever purchased. Their next destination became the Ferris wheel, where they could sit close and overlook the city of Neptune.

When a cool wind blew, perhaps an early sign of fall approaching, Veronica instinctively snuggled closer to Logan and allowed him to put his arm around her. "This is nice," she said with a smile as they sat, stopped, at the top of the Ferris wheel.

Logan nodded in agreement, "no one else around to bother us.

Veronica looked at him for a moment, before saying what was on her mind: "Can I ask you for a favor? You can say no if you want."

"What's the favor?" he asked with a smile, knowing from experience to never blindly agree to anything with Veronica Mars.

She smiled and suddenly became shy, "Well, I kind of always wanted to kiss someone at the top of a Ferris wheel. It just seemed so romantic. And well, we're here, and not moving, and if it's not crossing any friendship lines…"

Her rambling shyness reminded him of the innocent Veronica that he knew from before Lilly's death. He thought she was cute then and definitely cute now and a part of him was really glad to see traces of _that_ Veronica still remained in her. Finally, he stopped her ramblings by lightly placing a kiss on her lips. It was innocent, sweet, and short, just like her.

Just as quickly as it had happened, it was over and the Ferris wheel was moving again. The only lingering sign that that did just occur was the blush that spread across Veronica's cheeks. Logan only smiled at her and again brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

When the ride was over, it was starting to get late, "Are you ready to leave?" she asked him, again taking his hand, although it was no longer necessary since the crowd had begun to thin.

Logan looked around, "Actually, there's one more thing I want to do." Finally he spotted it and he led her over to the booth.

In front of them stood the game of ring toss with the "I wuv you beary much" teddy bears as prizes. Veronica's face lit up; he remembered. However, she wasn't going to let him get away with it so easily and lightly harassed him about his lack of ring-tossing ability.

However, she was quickly proven wrong and on his first try he won the bear for her, as promised, so many years ago. "You know, you can choose a larger prize," the carnie said, gesturing towards the oversized neon lizards hanging above them.

Logan shook his head, "nope, I promised this lady here, a bear, and I intend to pay in full," he said and received his prize. Logan promptly handed it over to Veronica, who was still amazed that not only did he remember, but he found a ring-tossing booth with those bears, and won her it on his first attempt.

The bear wasn't large; she could easily carry it with one arm. It didn't matter; he had won her the bear like a _normal couple_. Suddenly it hit her. This was a _date_. She kept face for the rest of the evening as he took her home; silently thinking of how Logan Echolls was a dead man and ways she could get her revenge.

* * *

A/N: So, there you have it folks, Veronica officially figured out Logan's plan and now he has to pay, because she wouldn't be Veronica without seeking revenge. But I did like this chapter and all the fluffy goodness of it. A cute, fun night at the carnival on the pier near the beach, hand holding, an innocent little kiss. Anyway, reviews are heavenly and that box can get pretty lonely on a cold night... just saying...


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So here is the big confrontation, and believe me, it wasn't easy. I rewrote this about a hundred times, trying to find just the right reaction... Veronica wants to be with Logan, Logan wants to be with Veronica, and they're both clearly not ready to take the training wheels off just yet, but they have been moving forward, so I really hope that this is both realistic and fulfilling. Also, I'm sorry, but everyone else does have to come back eventually. Summer cannot last forever, as much as I would like it to.

P.S. For anyone who has not yet noticed, I try to update around the same time each day (approx noonish EST) just a heads up for people who like schedules or want to know when to look for this or something. I just felt the need to add that little tidbit in there.

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Chapter 11: Red-Handed?

Mac and Wallace were due back in Neptune in a few days, Dick next week, and Piz and Parker the week after, when classes began again. Logan and Veronica's summer alone was rapidly coming to a close. They both knew that as soon as their friends returned to town, they would want to spend time, alone, with them and trade summer stories, or at least Veronica did.

On that particular afternoon, Veronica had left work early after hitting a light few days and finishing all of her work early. She took advantage of those few extra hours to plan how she was going to get even with Logan for tricking her. Then it hit her.

She would confess to him over dinner that evening that she was seeing someone. It wouldn't be a lie, she was seeing someone: him. Let him squirm for a little while, for entertainment purposes, of course, and then reveal that she was on to him.

Also, a hot dress wouldn't hurt anything. Maybe something red, a little low cut and it certainly needed to show off a lot of leg. And high heels: level the playing field a little bit. Logan Echolls was definitely going to regret ever playing games with her.

The dress wasn't something new. Actually, it was quite old, and she was a little surprised to find that not only did it still fit, it looked better on her now than when she got it. However, despite the how many years she had owned the dress, she had never worn it out in public before.

"_There are five dresses, Veronica" Lilly said, dragging her friend into the change room of one of her favorite boutiques, "that every woman must own. One of them is a cute, cocktail dress in a bright color. Your color is red," Lilly handed over the hanger of dress she had picked out for Veronica to try on, "and if you pick your dress just right, it's timeless. All you have to do is change your accessories and no one will notice."_

_Veronica came out of the change room in the dress Lilly had picked out, one hand tugging at the bottom, the other reaching across to cover herself. "Lilly," Veronica began, "I will never have a reason to wear this. My dad would never let me out of the house wearing this…" Lilly just laughed, "Someday, Veronica Mars, someday."_

Veronica still had all five dresses from that day in her closet, unworn. Tonight, however, it was a special night, and Veronica could use a little magic from her former best friend to get through it. She neither tugged at the bottom to make it longer nor covered herself with her arms. Instead, she wore it confidently. Tonight, she would make Logan pay. The rest of the dresses she would save for other occasions. If anyone knew how to handle men, it was Lilly Kane.

Logan couldn't say he wasn't shocked at her choice of attire for the evening, but he couldn't say he didn't like it either. He would never have thought Veronica would select a dress like that for herself. "Wow," was all he managed to say when he picked her up that evening. Logan thought she looked absolutely stunning. "You, uh, ready to go?" he asked, looking to the apartment for her father cleaning his gun.

She nodded and locked the door behind her. He dad was out of town again, which meant no curfew or calling to say she was going to be late. Also, her dad wouldn't have to see her wearing that dress.

After some small talk over ordering, Veronica decided to go ahead and make her move over appetizers, "this sure feels like a date," she said, innocently.

Logan nodded, "yeah, but we're just two friends enjoying a nice meal." He dipped his spoon into his soup to take a bite.

"That you're paying for," she reminded, wanting him to admit it. Why couldn't he just call it like it was?

He still said nothing, which made her angry, "cut the crap, Logan. It's a date. The night at the carnival, that was a date, too. I know what you're doing. What I don't know is why." She kept her voice calm as to not draw attention to them in the restaurant.

"Why what?" he asked, still not giving in to her. So maybe she was on to something, but he wouldn't say.

Veronica wasn't even paying attention to her own soup at that point, "why you'd risk this whole 'trust building' thing we've been doing by lying to me like this. Logan…"

Crap. So she knew. Well, he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret forever, but he was hoping for a little while longer. They still had a few issues to work through. "I was scared," he finally admitted, since everything was out in the open, "I don't want to lose you, Veronica. I guess I just needed proof for myself that things would be different this time, you know, that one small fight wasn't going to be the end of things, forever." For a man usually so good with words, he was having trouble explaining this to her.

"You could have told me," Veronica said, honestly, "This is what I was talking about. We've been so great lately at fixing the big things, but something like this, it can break us. How can we work towards having a functional relationship if you don't feel comfortable talking to me about something as simple as this?"

She paused, but not long enough for him to gather the words to say anything, "you could have said that this," she gestured around them, "that last night, that however long we have been doing this was a date and I would have been okay with it, Logan. One date doesn't make me your girlfriend. One date doesn't automatically put us back into a relationship. It's just a date. Do you know what's great about dates instead of 'non-dates' with 'just friends?' We don't have to deny the physical stuff that's made us so awkward. I know you feel it too, don't deny it. Look at this dress for goodness sake. I wanted to make you miserable. 'Just friends' means that you can look at this," she gestured to herself, like she was on display, "but you can't touch."

Stupid, stupid Logan. He could have had her the entire time and not betrayed her trust. Logan sighed, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Veronica smiled, "And here's the part where I show you how cool I can be. I forgive you. I know your heart was in the right place and that you meant well. From now on, just talk to me. Whatever it is, just tell me and then we can work through it, together." Sure, she had the option of throwing her napkin on the table and running out, but she didn't. She stayed. She faced it, and now, now she could enjoy her soup.

Logan was honestly shocked, "just like that? No grudges, no I'm never going to forgive you for this? Just absolution?"

Veronica nodded. She had grown a lot in the past year of being single. Sometimes life was too short to hold a grudge, especially over something like this. It was obvious he felt badly about what he did and he wasn't trying to hurt her. "One condition," she admitted.

"What's that?" he asked nervously, perhaps made worse by the evil grin that spread across her face.

She took a final bite of her soup before answering, "This is a date, and I expect at the very least, a kiss goodnight. On the lips." Veronica pointed to her lips to make her point.

Veronica watched him relax and a smile spread across his face. "Deal," he said and finished his soup as well. Maybe there really wasn't anything to be afraid of?

The rest of their evening consisted of random chatter about the return of their friends soon, classes starting up again and things they wanted to do before that happened. Logan wanted to get Veronica to go surfing again; Veronica wanted to go to the zoo.

Soon enough, however, the night had to come to a close and Logan walked Veronica back to her door, hand in hand. He enjoyed the fact that he no longer needed an excuse to hold her hand. He just could. Finally reaching the door, he turned her around; her back against the door, as he placed one hand above her head on the door to support himself and the other at her waist.

He leaned in and kissed her, as promised: one proper good night kiss. Her hands went to his face, holding him there just a little longer, until they were both breathless. "Good night, Veronica," he said, standing.

"Good night, Logan," Veronica smiled and unlocked her door, parting ways.

* * *

A/N: So there it is, and honestly, I wrote this so many times with a huge, screaming match in the restaurant or Veronica leaving, upset, but I didn't believe it. I think part of a mature relationship is being able to forgive someone else for hurting you just like that, especially when there wasn't a malicious intent behind it. I kept thinking of the Madison Sinclair thing and I felt like so much time had passed since then, they both have grown as people, and learned from that incident, that Logan wasn't trying to hurt her, just like he isn't trying to hurt her now. I thought he should have to pay by realizing that he could have been dating her this whole time and been able to kiss her, hold hands with her, etc., not felt awkward. So there's that. Uh, I have at least a few more chapters left, though probably only one more before at the least Wallace and Mac return. Reviews are lovely. You guys rock. Seriously, when I get frustrated with an idea and stuck in the middle of a chapter and think of abandoning ship, I come back and re-read all of your lovely reviews and I push through and sometimes I get it right. So, thank you. I really need to learn to stop this rambling nonsense though.

One last thing, I thought I should clarify this: this is not them getting back together for that last chance, this is a few dates. I'm taking getting back together for that last chance to be when he finally calls her his girlfriend and makes it all official, exclusive like. And that hasn't happened yet. Ya feel me? Okay, good.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: So, this is kind of a double chapter, if you will. I had two scenes rolling around in my head that I kind of wanted to get out, but I couldn't stretch either of them enough, without ruining them, into a "full length" chapter. Hence the two-parter deal here. You guys are probably going to hate me for the second one, but I can deal with that, I just kind of needed that set up, sort of. Seriously, I don't mind when you guys get mad at me, it means that you are emotionally invested in my story and that's awesome. Anyway, onwards! (I wish I could tone down my dorkish nature, but unfortunately, I'm stuck with it, bad jokes and all).

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Chapter 12A: Bookstore Browsing

"So, what do you have planned for today," Logan asked, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he finished his lunch. Veronica was taking off another afternoon from work, due to having finished early.

She was packing her trash into the bag he had brought the food in, "I wanted to go over to the bookstore and get my textbooks; get a head start on reading for this semester. I was looking at my syllabi last night and…"

He stopped her, "Oh you, such an overachiever. Textbooks, huh? I guess I'll need some of those too. Shall we go together?"

Veronica smiled, hoping that he'd also want to go and pick up his books. She stood and threw their trash away before grabbing her keys and bag from the hook by the door.

Having the sense to order ahead, Veronica's books were already waiting for her at the register, paid in full. Logan, on the other hand, needed to find a computer lab, print his schedule for the semester and then wander around the bookstore until he saw the labels on the books mentioning his class numbers.

"What's next?" she asked, once they found the set of books for his first class on a shelf in the back. Next semester she would definitely make him pre-order.

Pulling the list from where he had shoved it in his back pocket, he smoothed it out and read the second class, "English 389, Section 2."

Veronica nodded, the course sounding familiar, "Is that on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons with Professor Carter?" she asked.

Logan looked at the paper, "Yeah, why?"

"I have that one too… it's for my journalism minor," she quickly explained, and made a mental note to ask Logan later what he had finally declared.

He smiled at her and handed her the paper with his schedule on it, "Snoop away, Veronica Mars, I know you want to. Just let me know if I should expect you in any of my other classes; I wouldn't want to think you were following me around or anything."

Veronica quickly took the paper from him and read it as they walked to the section with the books for the English classes. "We have that class for Western Civ together, Philosophy 315, American Thought Processes," she remembered from her own schedule, "Tuesday mornings, for two hours at 8:30, that ought to be fun," she added, sarcastically.

Finally they reached the English books and Logan added to his stack the ones he needed for his class. "Wait," Veronica said as he began to move on, "you have two English classes this semester, might as well grab those books while we're over here."

He nodded and continued down the row until he found his other class. "Well, it looks like we just have those two classes together," she said finally, handing him back the paper. However, she also noted that they both had Fridays off this semester, which could come in handy, especially having the same final class of the week Thursday afternoons. Plus, they would be seeing each other all day on Tuesday, every Tuesday.

After purchasing his books, they walked back to his car, "Do you want to come over for a while? Watch a movie? We could order food. Wallace comes back tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Veronica said, climbing in the passenger side. He really needed to get a more "vertically challenged" friendly truck. "That's sounds good. I'll text my dad and tell him not to expect me for dinner."

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A/N: So, that is Chapter 12A, the LoVe scene of the chapter. I originally had a little bit of an extra ending to that, with Dick coming back early and interrupting them again, but I decided to be nice. The scene below takes place on the day before classes start with Piz and Wallace moving into their dorm room. It contains neither Veronica nor Logan, but I felt it was important. So, enjoy. Or skip over it completely, it's a free country. Lol, Raptures all around.

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Chapter 12B: Reunited Roomies

Wallace walked into his dorm room, surprised to find Piz already there, unpacking, "you must be Stosh…" Wallace said with a laugh, remembering back to freshman year.

"That makes you… Wallace, right?" Piz played along, stopping unpacking for a moment.

Wallace put down the boxes he was carrying on his bed, knowing that his brother would be entering the room soon with some more, "I specifically asked for a roommate that was… you know…"

Piz laughed, "Not better looking than you? I think we've got that covered."

Wallace looked around the room they would be sharing for the year; it looked the same as the other two. "I was going to say cooler… but I guess you'll do," Wallace walked over to properly greet his roommate with a "man-hug."

After a few more trips, Wallace, his brother, and mom had successfully relocated all of his belonging to his room and he said good-bye to them, promising to come to dinner soon.

"So, I wanted to talk to you about something," Piz said, entering Wallace's half of the room.

_Please don't say Veronica, please don't say Veronica_, Wallace thought and continued to unpack. "What's up?" he asked causally.

"Have you seen Veronica yet?" Piz asked, obviously not reading Wallace's thoughts.

Thinking back to the "welcome back" lunch with Veronica and Mac, Wallace felt bad for the guy. It seemed like things would be "on again" with Logan soon enough, if they weren't already. With a sigh he stopped unpacking and turned to face his roommate, "Forget about her, dude. It's not going to happen."

Piz, of course, couldn't drop it. "I know she's in love with me. I mean, isn't this the way she does things? She breaks up with guys and then takes them back, over and over? Just look at her and Logan and that other dude that fled the country to get away from her," he was now completely on Wallace's side of the room.

"Duncan? Dude, he fled the country to protect his baby, not to get away from Veronica, and the first time he broke up with her because he thought she might be his sister," Wallace paused. Why was he telling Piz these things?

Piz's face changed, "She dated her brother?"

Wallace sighed. He might as well just go all in on this and pray that it didn't bite him in the ass later, "No. Her dad had a paternity test done; they aren't siblings, which is when they got back together. And then he left, Logan saved her life, and she got back together with Logan. You're also forgetting about Troy and Leo; she only dated each one of them twice." Veronica was going to kill him later, he was sure of it.

Piz sat down. He had only known about Logan and _the other guy_. Who were these other dudes? "They don't matter," he said finally, "This is our year. Just you wait, roommate, Veronica and I will be once again, and when we get married, I'll be sure to make you my best man."

Wallace lay back on his bed, not wanting to deal with this. It really wasn't his place to tell Piz about Logan and Veronica's summer of reconciliation. The funny thing was, he actually believed Veronica this time, he believed it would be different, and although he would never admit it to anyone, ever, he wanted them to work out too.

"If you want my advice," Wallace said, not looking at him, "move on and be satisfied with being friends with her. If you push her, she is going to push you out of her life. If you make me choose sides, I'm going to choose hers. Four years of friendship, she saved my life, and she smells better, just remember that." With that, the conversation was officially over because Wallace wasn't going to talk about it anymore. He gave Piz advice and it was up to him to take it, however, he honestly doubted he would.

Piz stood and retreated to his side of the room, wondering why Wallace refused to help him, He was her best friend, after all, he could easily plant the idea in her head.

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A/N: Okay, I'll admit, Piz was never my favorite character, so I may kick him around a few more times. Sorry. I think I really just need to get him a girl that isn't Veronica. Maybe if he gets laid, he'll be less annoying. Idk. Ignore me. Thinking out loud here. Anyway, this is pretty much just setting up that Piz is still gaga over Veronica and kind of a little crazy about getting her back and Wallace is completely over it and has laid out where his loyalty falls: with Veronica. So, that's the condensed version of 12B for anyone who didn't bother lol. Reviews are heavenly, even if you want to yell at me and tell me how much you love Piz and hate me for doing that. I'll read them. I promise.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: So soon... I can feel it in my bones, but I have a few things I need to cover first... like Veronica's birthday, which is sometime in late August? so. there's that. A little of what this chapter focuses on. And the first two days of classes. I sort of knocked out a bunch of things in this chapter. Its so awesome and cute. It's kind of like oh hey friends who abandoned us all summer, look at all of the fun we had without you... lol.

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Chapter 13: Back to School

The seven met for breakfast early Monday morning on the first day of classes. Veronica honestly could not remember a time in her life when she had six people she could call friends, simultaneously. It was actually quite nice. She took a seat next to Mac and Logan sat on the other side, with Dick soon to follow next to Logan.

They were still missing Piz and Wallace and the girls laughed assuming they had overslept, which their attire when they arrived seemed to confirm. They sat quietly, Piz with an upset look on his face that he had to sit across from Veronica at the table, not next to her. He couldn't say anything, either, since Parker was in the middle of telling a story about her summer.

As soon as Parker finished, Veronica excused herself for her Monday morning class. As soon as she was completely gone, Logan took over the table, "so, Dick and I just got this amazing beach house and we've decided that our first party there is going to be for Veronica's birthday in two weeks. I was thinking beach/surf themed, kind of going with this," he said, pulling out his phone and showing the picture he took of Veronica the day they went surfing, passing it around the table.

"Veronica doesn't surf," Piz said, matter-of-factly, happy that he knew something about Veronica that Logan didn't. Logan ignored him and kept talking and Parker handed him Logan's phone with the picture of Veronica, surfing, in the tiniest bikini he had ever seen. His eyes practically fell out of his head.

Logan laughed at the poor guy's expression, "So, we're going to need a huge cake, and some sparklers, wood to build a bonfire outside, Dick's got the drinks covered, balloons, tons of balloons; she loves those things. I want to make a video of her life to play on a large screen in the background. Oh, and this is a surprise, so no one can tell her."

Logan waited for his phone to be passed back to him. He wanted this party to be the best party ever. "As for food, I was thinking all of Veronica's favorites: lasagna, egg rolls, mashed potatoes and tacos," Logan watched Mac write down every word he said, knowing she was going to research everything and get back to him. Some days he enjoyed being filthy rich; he could throw extravagant shindigs like this and not have to worry about the cost.

He continued to rattle off things that he knew Veronica loved that would be great for the party, oblivious that he was pissing Piz off by knowing so many details about her that he did not. Parker was excitedly making suggestions, loving parties herself, that would make the night even better. Wallace helped where he could, knowing certain other things about Veronica. The night was going to be a success.

Veronica knew he was looking for a place, and he had brought her to several of his choices, but she didn't know which one he ultimately picked. Though she had no real reason to be included in the decision making process, she was flattered that he included her anyway. She figured if they were dating, she'd probably be spending a lot of time there anyway and he wanted her to feel comfortable. This party would be the first time she would see his new place, she just didn't know it yet.

When they met up in class on Tuesday, he said nothing of the party and took the seat next to her. "Good morning," he said with a smile, despite the early timeslot of the class.

She looked over to him and returned the smile, "Hey. You are aware that it is 8:30 a.m. right now, not p.m., right?"

He nodded and laughed. "So, what are you doing after class? Maybe we could get an early lunch in the cafeteria and hang out until everyone else gets out of class?" he asked hopefully. Well, assuming that the class actually ran for the full two hours, it was the first day. As every student hoped, first days brought reading of syllabi and then early dismissal, usually.

"That sounds good. I've been wanting a smoothie all morning. It's too hot outside today," she said, drawing attention to the outfit she selected. He noticed the short denim skirt she was wearing first, making her legs appear so much longer. She had paired it with a tight, pink tank top. The necklace around her neck was the one that Lilly had given her and her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, an attempt to get it off her neck.

Could it be that his tough Veronica had a bit of girly-girl left in her? "Well, we will just have to get you a smoothie then," he said with a laugh before the professor walked in and hushed the class. If Veronica was going to insist on wearing skimpy outfits in class, then perhaps Logan could be persuaded to come to morning classes more often.

Despite the students' desires, class ran for the full two hours; a full discussion on the origins of American thought. Great. They left the room and walked to the cafeteria, Logan's arm loosely around her waist. Although they weren't official, yet, she didn't mind him being so close to her. It was kind of nice. "Look, there's Piz," Veronica pointed once they had gotten their drinks, "we should go sit with him."

The first thing Piz noticed when the pair approached his table was the location of Logan's hand on Veronica's hip. "Hey Piz," she greeted warmly, taking a seat across from him at the table and putting her bag down. Logan followed suit, sitting next to her. "How was your summer? It seems I've been a little busy lately and haven't gotten a chance to talk to you," Veronica asked, genuinely interested in how her friend was doing.

A lesser man would have found Piz to be a threat, but Logan didn't mind Veronica's interest. He knew they were friends, and he was okay with that, especially after how they spent their summer. It certainly wasn't Piz walking around with his arm around Veronica; nope, that was Logan. He sipped his smoothie silently, letting the pair of them talk.

"Logan and I had a lot of fun this summer, too," Veronica said after hearing what Piz had to say, "didn't we Logan?" Veronica wanted to bring him into the conversation too, hoping that they could be something in the same zip code as friends.

Logan nodded and put his now half-empty cup on the table, "Yeah, we did." He thought back to how much fun the summer was, probably one of the best of his life, even with all of their arguments.

"I loved the carnival," Veronica continued, "I got Logan to ride the carousel." She showed Piz the awkward picture of Logan on the carousel horse that she had taken. "He looked so funny, like a giant," she continued as Piz handed the phone back to her, barely looking at the picture.

Logan smiled, "That was a good night. I have an even better picture of Veronica, though," he said, bringing out his phone and showing a photo of Veronica with a pout on her face in under a sign that said "you must be this tall to ride."

Veronica rolled her eyes, "he rode it without me, and made me wait," she remembered. It was more so funny than upsetting, though, as she had obtained and consumed an entire cotton candy while he was gone. The other pictures taken that night were not shared over the lunch table.

Soon enough, more of their friends showed up. Parker had a class during the usual lunch hour and was unable to make it. The rest discussed their morning classes and thoughts on how well they predicted they would enjoy them. Eventually, Logan and Veronica had to go to their next Tuesday class, leaving Piz with yet another scowl on his face that they were leaving together.

"Welcome to News Writing," the Professor said to start the class off, "I'm going to discuss the syllabus, your assignments for the semester and give you a quick warm-up assignment and then you will be free to go," she said with a warm smile and began handing out the stacks of paper.

Finally she wrote the "warm-up" on the board, "I want you to interview the person sitting next to you by asking them these questions," she said, tapping on the board, "and turn them in before you can leave."

Logan and Veronica looked at each other and smiled, this was going to be easy. Logan began his mock interview first. "So, Veronica, what is your name?" he asked with a straight face. She didn't have to answer as he scribbled something down on the paper, clearly answering all of the ones he declared pointless. "Question 10, why are you in News Writing?" he asked, not sure of that particular answer.

"Journalism minor," Veronica responded, simply. She had always enjoyed Newspaper in high school and figured she'd give college journalism a try, and found she enjoyed that as well.

He nodded and wrote her answer, "Final question, if you had a million dollars, how would you spend it?"

Veronica thought for a moment; how would she spend a million dollars, "I don't know," she said, honestly. She wasn't left in want of anything and was content with how her life was, "I guess I'd pay for college and get my own apartment and then invest the rest?" It was more of a question than an answer, but truthfully, that's all she could think to do with it, "oh, and get my dad a really awesome Christmas present.

Logan smiled, knowing that it was never about money with Veronica. She was always so sensible and he knew that she would never date him just to have her hands on his money. In fact, he was sure that if she did get her hands on it, she would wisely invest it and probably make him even richer. That's certainly one of the things he loved about her.

Then Veronica interviewed Logan, skipping the basics until the final two questions as he had done, "Why are you in News Writing?" she asked, actually curious to hear his answer.

"So I can be closer to you," he said with a wink, remembering what she said when she transferred to newspaper in high school, "Seriously, though? Journalism minor, English major. I was thinking of becoming a writer, but I wasn't sure what kind I wanted to be, so I thought I would cover all my bases. I have a theatre minor too. I was considering writing screen plays. Maybe be on the other side of movie making. Hmm, I guess this means we'll have quite a few classes together over the next two years, huh?" He silently thanked his academic advisor for pushing the journalism program.

Veronica wrote down the answer, impressed that he was taking his future so seriously. She could cross that talk off of her list of things to ask him. House, career, Logan was certainly getting his life together, she thought. "Okay," she said looking at the time, "final question, if you had a million dollars, how would you spend it? Wow, that's a silly question," she added, knowing that it wasn't so much an 'if' with Logan.

He laughed, "Only a million? Where'd the rest of it go? I guess I'd buy a house on the beach and then hire a cute little blonde detective to find what's missing," he playfully tapped her on the nose. They handed in their assignments and left. "Work?" he asked as they exited the building.

"Yup, I guess I get to do afternoons now instead of mornings," she replied thinking of her summer schedule. "See you tomorrow?" she asked, unsure, not familiar with his Wednesday schedule.

He nodded as he walked her to her car, "sure. Tomorrow. Lunch in the cafeteria?"

"Sounds like a plan," she said and got in her car and drove off to work.

* * *

A/N: So I kind of punked out with the ending... it just sort of fizzled. Sorry. So, it was kind of hard to find a future plan for Logan since the show never really discussed that. I always thought he liked English and grew up around the movie industry so... screen writing maybe, writing novels maybe, he surely isn't short on inspiration. Also, upcoming is Veronica's big birthday blowout. Its going to be awesome. And, I just had a brilliant thought come to me as to who should be Piz's date to the party since he obviously can't bring Veronica. Bonus points to anyone who guesses. Seriously. Or not. Reviews are awesome. I can't believe this is chapter 13.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So, I really had to do it, just to shut him up once and for all. The next chapter will kind of deal with the fallout of some of the things that happened at Veronica's birthday party. I'm really trying to pull out Logan's over-protective nature, but seeing as how Veronica hasn't really put herself in danger lately (I thought I would get into this but I haven't. Oh well. It has to do with Keith being elected sheriff... not a big deal) because I really want them to work through that before they get together officially. So that is definitely to come. Is it wrong that I've been planning the epilogue before this story is even finished? I'm a terrible person.

* * *

Chapter 14: Happy Birthday Veronica!

Logan had worked tirelessly to make sure Veronica's birthday party would be a success and that Veronica didn't have a clue about it, which was easier said than done. He was, after all, trying to keep something from a detective. On the afternoon of the party, he went over to her apartment to distract her for the day while everyone else set-up at his new house.

"Here," he said, handing her one of the many presents he got her, "Open it." The bag was blue with stripes and tissue paper coming out of the top. She took it happily and sat on the couch.

He had thought long and hard about what to get her and while some of them came easy, like her very own surfboard, which he was saving for later, others were not as practical. Logan watched her face as she fished the small box out of the bag.

Veronica opened the velvet coated box, knowing it wasn't a ring or earrings, but suspected some sort of necklace. Inside, on a silver chain, was a key that she didn't recognize. Her eyes met his, "I don't understand…"

Logan smiled, "I bought that house, the one on the beach. Remember, I showed it to you? You said you liked the view and thought the deck would be great for entertaining in the summer. It had the pool with the hot tub." He was describing it, although he would take her there that evening.

"The key to your house, Logan? Are you sure?" she was surprised by the gesture. They had been on a few dates, sure, but they weren't really at that stage in their relationship.

He nodded, "mi casa es su casa. Now, you need to get ready because I have quite the day planned for you. You're going to need a swimsuit, preferably that little blue number…"

Veronica cut him off, "keep talking like that and you'll never see that swimsuit again. I think I have a one-piece somewhere that covers _everything_." Logan immediately shut his mouth and pretended to zip it shut. "Okay, should I pack a bag? Or are we immediately going swimming?" she asked, moving towards her room to find said swimsuit.

"Bag," Logan said, "for later, right now, you should change into something… comfortable, sneakers, jeans, t-shirt…" He noticed that Keith also wasn't there; another business trip. "Maybe you want to pack pajamas, too? Stay the night?" he asked, moving to the kitchen so she could hear him better down the hall.

Veronica didn't have to think about it; she packed her swimsuit, her pajamas, and an extra set of clothing before moving on to the bathroom to collect toiletries. Staying the night did not imply sleeping with Logan, and they both knew that, not that either one of them was quite ready for that yet. Once she was finished packing and changing, she joined him in the kitchen.

They drove in silence for a while; Veronica trying to figure out where they were going based on the landscape and road signs, but was clueless on their final destination, which made Logan smile. Eventually he pulled off the road and handed her a blindfold, "put it on," he said.

"Why?" blindfolds and surprises really weren't her things. She liked to know where she was at all times and where she was going. Taking away her most crucial sense was not going to be easy.

He sighed, "I want to surprise you, please? We're almost there. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you."

Reluctantly she agreed and placed the blindfold over her eyes, hoping to still get enough sensory information with her ears and nose. She could hear the road become gravel by the crunch of the tires and took in the smell of manure, "Are we at a farm?" she asked, getting excited, "Did you get me a pony?"

Logan smiled, though she couldn't see. That was Veronica, you try to surprise her and she figures it out anyway. "Go ahead and take off the blindfold," he said, opening his door and walking around to help her with hers. He had gotten her a pony ride for her birthday, not an actual animal. He watched her run up to the majestic creature with glee and begin petting it.

The man who owned the ponies smiled and nodded at Logan as he walked over. The man quickly explained how to ride the animals before helping the pair on to them. There was a clear path around the property that they could take, assuming the ponies would listen. "You can't keep them," Logan warned as they set off, "it's just a pony ride, but I know how much you like them, so…"

"It's perfect, thank you, Logan," Veronica responded with a huge smile, petting the pony, "this is like the best birthday present ever." Logan took out his phone as they rode and snapped pictures of her on the pony. He wasn't sure how many times he had seen her that happy; her smile making her eyes light up. It was such a simple gesture, and yet it meant so much to her.

They rode around for a couple of hours, until Logan was sure that their friends would be finished setting up the party and most of the guests would have arrived. Veronica was sad to leave the ponies, but Logan promised her that he would bring her back someday. He knew she would hold him to it and he was okay with that.

When they arrived, it was just getting dark and all of the lights were off in the house. The pair walked up to the door and Logan unlocked it, letting Veronica walk in first. As soon as she stepped in the house, all of the lights came on and everyone jumped out yelling "SURPRISE!" and blowing noise makers.

"Logan!" she exclaimed, looking back at him, "Did you do all of this?"

He nodded and smiled, "Well, I did have some help, but yeah, it was my idea."

Veronica was amazed by all of the people there, some of the faces she didn't recognize and assumed they were dates of friends or some of Dick's Pi Sig brothers. She greeted Wallace and Mac, hugging each one of them and thanking them, before moving deeper into the party, Logan right behind her.

The first thing she noticed was the movie playing on the large projector behind the cake. At the moment it showed a scene of her and Lilly dancing in Lilly's bedroom, singing along to whatever song was playing. Then it cut to a scene from the day Lilly got her license and offered to take Veronica, Logan, and Duncan out for a drive. Veronica, of course, got to sit in the front with Lilly, while the boys were forced into the backseat. The sound of the movie had been removed, not that it could have been heard anyway. "I hope you don't mind, but I made a movie of your life, your dad supplied some of the younger footage of you," Logan explained, if he was going down, he was bringing Keith down with him.

She turned around to face him, a happy smile on her face, "I love it. Thank you." Once she noticed the movie begin to replay, she moved on to see the rest of the party, noting the bonfire outside and the surfers on the beach before seeing the large pile of presents on the deck. Just as she was about to get excited for presents, someone she didn't want to see at her party stepped into her line of vision. "Did you invite her?" she asked Logan, nodding her head in that direction.

Logan looked up to see Madison Sinclair. No, he did not invite her. Why the hell would he invite Madison Sinclair? He shook his head at Veronica before stepping forward to handle the situation. "What are you doing here?" he asked her.

She laughed, "I was invited."

He looked at her like she was nuts, "To Veronica's birthday party? By who?" Seriously, whoever invited her needed to take her and leave.

"Him," Madison said and pointed to Piz as he walked over, carrying two drinks.

Veronica caught up to Logan as Piz returned, "Happy Birthday, Veronica," Piz offered, placing a hand around Madison's waist. The hurt in Veronica's eyes was unmistakable as she saw the interaction. Veronica about-faced and ran back into the party, looking for Wallace or Mac. Piz stood with a satisfied smile on his face; he had found just the right woman to make Veronica jealous and she would be his by Monday.

Logan just looked at Piz and shook his head, "You don't know what you've just done. I hope you find _her_ to be worth it." He quickly left the pair to find Veronica.

Logan found her sitting on the couch with Parker. He took her other side and rubbed comforting circles on her back, "Do you want to go outside? We could sit near the bonfire? Or we could go surfing, there's a little sunlight left. Madison wouldn't follow us into the water…"

Veronica smiled and nodded, surfing would be nice. She had promised to surf with him again sometime and that moment seemed as good as any, "be right back," he said, getting up and looking to Parker to stay with her for a moment.

He returned shortly with two presents, one large and surfboard shaped, the other was another gift bag. Logan had gotten Veronica her very own surfboard and wetsuit; perhaps an attempt to coax her out onto the water a little more often. Maybe it was more of a present for himself in that sense. Either way, she loved it and quickly went to go change.

After a few runs, the daylight was completely gone. Luckily by that point, Veronica had calmed down, all of her energy spent on being angry and upset spent on surfing. Logan led her back into the house where neither Piz nor Madison could be spotted. Someone else must have escorted them out, he figured.

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her before she blew out the sparkler candles on the beautiful cake Logan had picked out for her. She didn't care that she was still slightly damp or her hair was a mess from surfing, it didn't matter. The pictures would still come out great when they showed up online the next day.

After the cake was enjoyed, a few party games were played, including classics like pin the tail on the donkey and a piñata, which happened to be filled with condoms instead of candy. Being a little tipsy by this point, Veronica didn't care and knew that Dick was behind it. She didn't even get a chance to open her presents before the party died down and the drunk scattered off, most of them heading back to Hearst. Wallace ended up crashing on the couch, not wanting to deal with the aftermath of the Piz/Madison situation.

"Best birthday ever," Veronica said with a grin on her face as Logan climbed into bed next to her, "honestly, I don't know how you're going to top it next year when I turn 21. Thank you." He smiled at the promise of 'next year,' and wrapped his arm around her before falling asleep.

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A/N: So, there's that. Veronica's almost perfect birthday with a little Madison Sinclair for good measure. Because why not? I want to get with you, so to do that, I'm going to bring the person you hate the most in this world as my date to your birthday to make you jealous. Totally will work. Every time. For serious. Haha. So, on a sad note, I'm predicting maybe three-four more chapters before the epilogue, maybe. I kind of want to do a nice flat twenty, but I feel like that might be stretching this whole thing a little too far, so we shall see. Anyway, thank you guys for everything. Your reviews are heavenly.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: So this chapter is a little shorter than they have been, but I found a way to bring in something I've been struggling to have an excuse for... so yeah. I think they always seem shorter on here than when I'm writing them for some reason. It's like words have vanished... oh well. I have an epilogue rolling around in my head that I want to do. I have a chapter rolling around in my head. I probably want at least one more good fluff chapter just because I like things fluffy. This is fifteen... so I could probably make this work to twenty... but after that I'm just writing and there isn't going to be a concrete end to the story then... so. There's that. I am thinking of another story I want to write. I'm not sure if it would be a sequel or just another story unrelated. I'll keep thinking about it. In the mean time commence reading this chapter. Because it's here. And I said so. Lol.

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Chapter 15: Fists a' Flyin'

Piz did not see Veronica at all on Monday. She had purposefully avoided him, the incident of her birthday party still fresh in her mind. On Tuesday, he noticed her walk into the cafeteria, laughing, with Logan after their morning class together. The pair went through the lunch line before selecting an empty table on the other side of the cafeteria, never once looking in his direction.

Soon all of their mutual friends, again with the exception of Parker, showed up and joined Logan and Veronica. Piz packed up his things and relocated himself to their table; maybe no one saw him sitting over there alone.

When he sat down, Logan instinctively inched closer to Veronica, who averted her eyes and became quiet. Wallace and Mac said polite "hellos" but the conversation had come to a halt.

"Hey Veronica," Piz said, trying to get her attention as she wrote something down in her notebook, "Happy Birthday, again."

Again, she said nothing, but closed her notebook and slipped it into her bag, getting ready to leave. She just couldn't face him right now, it was too soon. Picking up her trash and slinging her bag over her shoulder, she moved to get up and made her way to the bin.

Logan watched patiently, seeing if she was going to leave or return to the table. However, Piz decided to follow her, "Veronica, talk to me," he said, and grabbed onto her arm, spinning her around, leaving her wobbly on her feet. The look of discomfort on her face silently expressed that Piz was, perhaps, holding her a little too tightly. Although he certainly hadn't intended to hurt Veronica, just stop her from leaving, she knew that a bruise was definitely going to form in the shape of his hand on her arm.

Immediately Logan was up and pulling Piz away from her, "Back off, Piz. I kicked your ass once; don't make me do it again." Of course Logan was in the middle of _another_ scene in the cafeteria involving Veronica, who looked horrified at the interaction. At that moment, he didn't care. He never wanted to see that expression on her face again.

"It's not my fault she becomes a bitch when she's jealous," Piz defended himself. Strike three, Piz, you're out. Logan's fist collided with Piz's face, reminding him of the pain that came with messing with Logan. Piz quickly fell to the ground, his hand reaching up to his face in an attempt to soothe the pain. By now the cafeteria was quiet, with the exception of one exit door, which slammed shut.

Logan knew it was Veronica running away. He had just caused a scene, punched her friend in the face, and became the over-protective jackass that she didn't like. Veronica Mars was not a damsel in distress that needed rescuing. As soon as his brain could figure out how to send the signal to his feet, he ran out of the cafeteria to chase her, leaving Piz to sort his own face out. Getting to Veronica became more important than teaching Piz a lesson.

"What's the big deal?" Piz asked to no one in particular. Wallace looked to Mac and sighed, getting up to grab Piz and lead him out of the cafeteria.

He led him back to the room before letting him collapse on their own floor, "Dude... you messed things up so bad, I can't even look at you. I told you, I was going to take her side, and I am. I don't think you can fix this. The Madison thing, maybe, because you didn't know, but calling Veronica a bitch? I'm sorry, but I can't just let you call my best friend a bitch." Wallace took a seat on the chair at his desk, "You remember when Veronica broke up with Logan freshman year because he slept with some girl?"

Piz nodded, crawling to a sitting position and leaning against the closet, "Yeah, it was great, she was single and I got to date her..." Piz remembered.

Wallace also nodded at his memory, "The girl Logan slept with was Madison. They weren't even together at the time and Logan slept with her and Veronica broke up with him for it later. Veronica has her reasons and if she wants you to know, she'll tell you, but you know its got to be bad if that's what happened with Logan, and she's in love with Logan."

Piz, however, wasn't really listening to it, just lost in his own thoughts, "If she forgave Logan for sleeping with her, she'll forgive me for bringing her to a party. She doesn't know that I slept with her."

The look on Wallace's face as the words tumbled out of Piz's mouth was of pure horror and disgust. He shook his head and got up, leaving Piz alone in the room. It just wasn't worth it. In his futile attempt to get Veronica back, he pretty much destroyed any ounce of hope that remained of that happening.

Logan caught up to Veronica just as she was about to pull out of her parking space. He stood behind her car, not allowing her to leave. Veronica sighed and rolled down her window, "move or I'll run you over."

Calling her bluff, he remained in his spot, "Then I guess you'll have to run me over because I'm not moving." He heard her rev her engine to scare him, but he remained glued. He knew Veronica would never run him, or anyone else for that matter, over with her car. Deep down, Veronica Mars was a marshmallow. Finally he heard her cut the engine off.

Logan walked around and got in the passenger seat, ready to take what she needed to say.

"You can't solve everything with your fists, Logan, you just can't. I would have handled it," she was upset, but trying to hold her tears back. Not just upset with him, but upset with the whole situation and somehow it was all coming out at once. Why did Piz have to choose Madison of all people? Where did he even meet her?

He wasn't sure if he should touch her, so his hands remained awkwardly to at his sides. He wanted so desperately to comfort her, knowing the kind of memories and pain that Madison brought with her; knowing how hurt she must feel at the betrayal of a friend. "I know. But I don't care. I saw him grab you and I couldn't let him hurt you. All I want to do is protect you," he sighed. They've had this fight before, but it's never really resolved. It probably never will be.

They were at an impasse. He was a protector by nature and she had grown to be fiercely independent. "I get it, Logan, I do," she began, "I know you feel like you need to protect me. You said that I needed to learn to trust you right, and you would work on being more trustworthy?" she asked, remembering their previous conversation, "I guess you need to trust me too, and in exchange I'll become more trustworthy."

She paused for a moment and caught his eyes, before explaining, "I promise to tell you when I need help if you stop jumping in at every little thing, okay? Some days I do need protecting." Veronica thought back to that night on the roof of the Neptune Grand with Cassidy Casablancas. She needed Logan then. The day in the River Styx, she'd needed him then too. Taking on the Russian Mob to defend her honor, well it wasn't a need, but it was a nice gesture. "I just... I don't know what I would do with myself if something happened to you because of me..." she confessed, knowing she would carry the guilt with her.

Hiring someone to follow her when she investigated the rapes at Hearst? It made her more paranoid. Beating up Piz when he thought Piz was the one to release that tape freshman year? She certainly didn't need him to do that. They clearly needed to work on communicating where his fists were needed. Today, his fists were unnecessary. "Okay," he conceded.

"Now let me see your hand," she instructed, wanting to make sure he hadn't injured himself while hitting Piz. He rolled his eyes, but obliged. Veronica inspected it before she was satisfied that he had no injuries requiring first aid and then placed a healing kiss on it anyway for good measure. Knowing that the worst was past them, Logan opened his arms for her as she crawled across the center console and just held her.

By this time, of course, it was too late to try to make it to their afternoon class; they had already missed most of it. They sat in her car for a while, enjoying the comfort that came along with each other's presence. For them, things would always be better when it was just the two of them.

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A/N: I think Piz had a moment of like temporary insanity here. For serious. So caught up in trying to get Veronica that he pretty much just forever screwed himself over forever and brought Logan and Veronica closer in the process. Uh, you know the drill, review, review, review. Yup.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Here's another fun little fluffy chapter. Also, it is another game night. And I know, I've already done a game night. But. It really bugs me when shows introduce a "thing" as a regularly occurring event and then never mention it again. Drives me crazy. If its so regular and your characters do it all the time, why don't they ever do it again after the first mention of it? End rant. Anyway. So, I don't necessarily ship Wallace/Parker and that really wasn't the intention of putting them together in this chapter, though if that is how you want it to play out in your own heads, by all means, go for it. It was more of I already established Mac as Dick's "special game night friend" and Wallace and Parker were just kind of left over, so they had to be teamed together. That's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

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Chapter 16: Life's Shooting Stars

"So, it looks like we don't have all of the pieces," Mac laughed, looking into the box of LIFE on game night. Actually, what she was missing were the little cars. Everything else was in order. "My brother must have gotten into this," she rationalized, rolling her eyes, "we only have three cars. Teams?" she suggested as a solution. She would have to yell at her brother when she returned the game.

Game night was being hosted by Mac and Parker that month, with Mac choosing the game. The six looked around the room, "I call Mackie!" Dick shouted, grabbing her around the waist and picking her up, catching her off guard. "We're going to retire in Millionaire Estates, baby!" he exclaimed, putting her down to sit with him. Logan and Veronica looked to each other, not saying a word, but silently agreeing to be partners. This would be interesting.

That left Wallace and Parker, since Piz was conveniently "busy" on this particular evening. Or at least, that was the excuse Wallace gave when he showed up alone to Mac and Parker's door. No one seemed to mind that he wasn't there. Once everyone agreed on teams, they began "re-writing" the rules to allow for doubled play.

"So, basically," Mac said to clarify, "the same standard rules apply, we each pick a job and a salary and get paid on payday, but we travel in the same car, share a turn, and follow the spaces as a unit. So, if you land on baby girl," she pointed to the space, "you get one child. If you land on skiing accident, you pay once. So, let's begin!"

Soon the six were having a blast moving around the board, alternating turns, collecting money and taking on the mundane. Everyone found it a lot more enjoyable to be on teams, except maybe Dick. Mac had forced his little blue peg person to ride in the very backseat of their joint car, while her pink peg person "drove." Everyone else chose a standard configuration of the couple in the front-most two seats, although Parker had distinctively placed her pink peg-person in the driver's seat.

"What?" she asked at the amused looks, "I don't have a car here. This is probably the only time I'll get to drive in the state of California. Cut a girl a break," she defended herself and Wallace threw up his hands in surrender. He didn't mind where his little peg-person sat.

With the next spin, Mac and Dick landed on "baby girl" and started their collection of children. "I'm going to name her Mary Jane," Dick said, seriously, watching Mac add a pink peg-person to their car. His choice in names caused a few chuckles from the room and Mac to roll her eyes.

Next Parker spun, landing on "Found Buried Treasure, Collect $80,000," with their little car. She smiled and paid out $80,000 to herself before Veronica spun for her and Logan's turn.

"Twins," Veronica read off the space on her and Logan's next turn, the memory of only a few weeks ago still fresh in her mind. However, since they hadn't told anyone else about that incident, she kept face and turned to Logan, "what would you like, dear, two boys? Two girls?"

Logan knew that struck a nerve and placed a hand on her back, rubbing comforting circles, "let's go with one of each. We can name all of them Logan, Jr." he said, trying to turn the situation back to humorous with a joke. Why not name all of his children after himself?

"All of them are going to be named Logan, Jr.?" she asked, trying not to laugh, "what are you, George Foreman?"

He winked at her, "Fine, we can name one of them Nemo, but I'd like most of them to be Logan, Jr." Logan knew she had seen Finding Nemo at least a dozen times and would immediately get the reference.

She gently shoved him, "for that, none of our children are going to be Logan, Jr." Veronica placed the tiny plastic people in the middle row of their car, glad that things weren't going to be awkward about the scare from the summer. They both knew they weren't ready for kids. They had discussed that, and yet, they're alter-selves in the game were apparently ready to have several.

Soon Mac and Dick ended up with a full car of plastic people, and Mac still refused to move Dick to the front seat, opting for one of their "daughters" to sit next to her instead. "Anymore kids and Dick's going to have to get out and walk," Mac declared with a laugh as she spun.

Moving her car along the road she looked down at the space she landed on, "Summer School, Pay $5,000 per child." She couldn't help but laugh before looking over to Dick, "Those must be your genes at play,_ dear_." Mac then counted out the $20,000 for four fake-children to attend summer school.

Wallace and Parker were having the opposite issue: they had yet to land on a single space to give them a child. Not that they really minded, since it was just a game and had no actual effect on their life outcomes, but it was an interesting contrast. "Buy season tickets, pay $10,000," Parker read then looked to Wallace. Of course it would be Wallace that would "want" season passes. Wallace in turn smiled at her and handed over the cash.

This turn, Logan spun and moved the car along the game board. "Visit Grand Canyon, collect a Life tile," he read off the space, "You know, I've always wanted to go there." He picked up on of the Life tiles and added it to their stack. "We should go sometime," he said, looking at Veronica, who nodded. Well, the Grand Canyon was certainly a step up from Mexico, so she'd take it.

With a few more turns, Wallace and Parker landed on "Become grandparents," which was quite amusing, due to their lack of "children." Either way, they took their Life tile and let Logan and Veronica have their turn. They were also nearing the finish when they landed on "Pension, collect $20,000 times spin." Mac and Dick were further behind everyone else, having gotten mostly low spins all game and still needed to catch up.

However, at the end of the game, it did come down to Mac and Dick versus Logan and Veronica to see who won overall. Wallace and Parker had chosen to retire modestly in Countryside Acres. It was quite the interesting twist, considering Dick and Logan were the richest people in the room. After careful counting and then recounting, it was declared an official tie. How did that happen?

It didn't matter as much after clean-up, since everyone enjoyed themselves and had a good time, and then it was time to go. Dick was going to meet Logan back at their house while Logan walked Veronica to her car, knowing all too well what could happen at Hearst after dark.

"Look!" she pointed up to the sky, stopping mid-stride. Logan stopped next to her and looked to where she was pointing.

Across the sky was a shooting star, probably one of the most beautiful sights either of them had ever seen, "make a wish," Logan said, thinking of all of those sayings about wishing on a shooting star.

_I wish things would work out with Logan this time_, she wished, looking at the star crossing the sky.

Logan watched the star for a moment before making his own wish: _I wish things would work out with Veronica this time._

She took his hand and gave it a light squeeze as they watched the star complete its journey across the sky. The pair waited for the star to leave their sight before continuing on their way to her car. "What did you wish for?" he asked as her vehicle became visible.

"If I tell you, it won't come true," she said with a light laugh.

Logan shook his head, "or, if you tell me, I'll make it come true." He had millions; he could buy her anything she wanted, and whatever she wanted, he would give to her.

She frowned, "Logan, you know that isn't why I like you, right? I don't care about your money or the power or the connections or whatever. It's not important to me." They were facing each other now, just a few steps away from her car. Sure, she loved that he could make all of her dreams come true with his influence, but it wasn't necessary. Veronica could be just as happy if Logan didn't have money.

He really wasn't used to people befriending him or liking him without an ulterior motive, but with Veronica, he knew it was true. If all of his money vanished tomorrow, he knew that their relationship would remain unchanged, which was actually quite comforting. "I know," he responded with a smile, "but that doesn't stop me from wanting to give you everything you desire. In fact, it makes me want to do it more."

Veronica looked up at him before placing a light kiss on his lips, "thank you. I wish I could just stay here with you, watching the stars all night, but my dad is home and he's expecting me soon. Plus, I have work in the morning; college doesn't pay for itself." She sighed with disappointment. It certainly would have been nice to stay out a little longer with Logan, but she wasn't a millionaire and actually did have to work.

He nodded in understanding, pulling her closer for one final, passionate kiss before releasing her and allowing her to get to her car. Logan stood by and waited until she was safely in the driver's seat, seatbelt on, doors locked and driving away before turning to head to his own car. Perhaps it was finally time to take the leap of faith?

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A/N: So, I'm really trying for my 20 chapter goal, but I'm thinking I may come in a little short. Also, who doesn't love LoVe wishing on a shooting star? Some days I am secretly a hopeless romantic. Some days I'm not. And the only way I can honestly see getting to my 20 chap goal is to produce another argument. But honestly, I think I've covered most everything I can think of that they would fight over. Just me thinking out loud a little. Reviews are awesome, and as some of you are quite familiar with by now, I do read each and every one of them and occasionally respond because you're totally worth it. Uh... did this just become a L'Oreal commercial?


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: So, in full disclosure, I have no idea where this chapter came from. I was blocked for a while, and then I just started writing and words flowed from my fingertips and somehow this happened. I regret nothing. Lol, enjoy!

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Chapter 17a: Distance

The next morning, Saturday, Veronica had gotten a case to work on at the office. Apparently the busy season was beginning early this year. Normally they were busy during the early summer months, around Christmas and Valentine's Day, those apparently being peak times for cheating spouses. However, this was not a case of a cheating spouse. An business owner suspected his partner of running illegal activity through their company and wanted it looked into.

Due to the case, she hadn't even noticed that Logan hadn't been by for lunch until it was well after five in the evening and her stomach was growling. With a sigh, she turned off the computer and locked up for the evening, heading home to find something to eat and switch to homework mode.

After securing dinner but before curling up with her homework, Veronica sent a quick text to Logan asking him about his day: short, simple, and open-ended. It's not like they had actual plans or something. He could have just as easily gotten caught up in something, like homework or video games.

By Sunday night, Veronica was getting a little worried having not heard from him all weekend. Then again, she had been busy with her case all weekend and couldn't say she had made significant effort to see him either. Putting the thoughts out of her mind, she comforted herself with the thought that she would see him in the morning and went to sleep.

However, that was not the case when Monday rolled around. He was no where to be found. Again, she tried to text him and got no response. Veronica did run into Dick, though, and cornered him against a building near the quad, "Do you know what's up with Logan?" she asked, putting on her best "Scary Veronica" face.

Dick looked around, "I haven't seen him," he said, trying to find an escape route.

"You live with him, Dick," Veronica reminded, not letting Dick leave. She wanted answers.

He took a deep breath, "He hasn't been there. I don't know where he went. I'm not his baby-sitter... Wait... I saw him talking to Parker, you should ask her..." Dick trailed off. This response caught Veronica off guard, allowing Dick to escape and run off to the other side of the quad before disappearing into a crowd of people.

Logan did show up to class on Tuesday, though he didn't provide an explanation for his absence. He took his usual seat next to her but said nothing. Granted he was running late and the professor had already begun, she at least expected a 'hello' or something.

"Are you going to lunch?" she asked as soon as the professor had dismissed the class before he had a chance to avoid her again.

He looked at her like he hadn't noticed she had been there the entire time, "Uh, yeah, lunch. Sure. Let's go," he said, offering her his hand so they could walk together.

"Is something going on?" she asked, trying to keep the conversation light as they made their way to the lunch line. "I texted you a couple of times and Dick said you weren't home..."

Logan snorted, "Dick is too high most of the time to know that he is even there. I would hardly call Dick a reliable source, Veronica."

After a thought, Veronica agreed that Dick was not the most reliable source to credit information to, "You're right. I'm sorry. I guess I'm just over-thinking things again. How was your weekend?"

He nodded and led her to a nearby table, "Boring. I finally sat down and wrote that paper for my English class, all fifteen pages. I... uh... turned my phone off so I wouldn't get distracted. I probably should have told you."

Veronica felt something strange was up, but said nothing about it, "It's okay, I'm glad you're taking your education seriously." The pair picked at their lunches, neither one of them really eating anything and quickly got pulled into separate conversations when their friends arrived to the table.

When it was time for News Writing, he again walked with her to class despite the uncomfortable silence.

"All right class, today we're going to do an exercise on media bias," the Professor said, starting the class, "I want each of you to partner up and write a few sentences about something you did recently and then trade. From your partner's sentences, I want you to create three headlines that exemplify different biases we find in the media, a positive spin, a negative spin, a conservative spin... choose whichever ones you like, I want to see who did this week's reading."

Veronica wrote a couple sentences about her stakeout, the mob connections to the business partner and the money laundering that was occurring, leaving out most of the important details. Logan scribbled a few sentences about Dick getting high before passing the paper to Veronica. Normally they would talk and laugh while completing the "reading check" assignments, but today neither of them said a word.

After class, Logan walked her to her car, placed a soft kiss on her forehead and went in search of his own car. Upset, though she wasn't sure why, Veronica got in her car and drove to work, keeping her mind focused on the job. It wasn't like her and Logan were fighting, they were just having an off day. He would probably be himself by the morning.

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A/N: Okay, so another two parter. Though, it wasn't originally. I felt there was too big of a jump between what is below and stargazing, so I added in a chapter before it to kind of fill in that time period. If there are any flow issues between these, I'm sorry! I wrote the next one first and then kind of filled in some details in the above. Any mistakes are my own as this is not beta'd (though I'm not sure if there is a need at this point since we're already 17 chapters deep...)

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Chapter 17b: It's Over

Or not. After a few days of bizarre behavior, Veronica had given in and allowed herself to have a night with her girl friends. Sometimes what a girl needed was a good distraction. However, that was quickly proving to not be effective.

"Do you guys know what's up with Logan?" Veronica questioned as she closed the nail polish bottle and placed it on the floor in front of her. Parker had suggested that they have "girl's night" and while that wasn't exactly Mac or Veronica's thing, they had agreed to let Parker have her fun for one night.

Mac shrugged, looking through the bottles of nail polish on the floor, many of them belonging to Parker, before deciding on an electric blue for her finger nails. Parker finished painting her big toe before looking up, "Why do you think something's up?"

Veronica shrugged, "I don't know, he's just seemed kind of distant all week. Like he normally jumps at the chance to have some alone time, but lately he's been coming up with all of these lame excuses." She really didn't know what was going on in his head. Maybe he was bored of her?

Mac and Parker shared a quick glance while Veronica looked through the nail supplies for toe spacers. "Maybe he's stressed about midterms," Mac suggested, knowing midterms weren't for a few weeks and that Logan wasn't really the "midterm stresser" type. She instantly regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

"You know something," Veronica accused, abandoning her search and focusing her attention on her friend. Sometimes being a private detective came in handy; she could read people like books.

Mac looked to Parker for help who, in response, help up her hands in innocence. Veronica watched the interaction, "one of you is going to tell me what's going on," she demanded.

"Fine," Parker gave in, looking away. How could she break the news to her friend? "He wants to break up with you, but he doesn't know how. He asked us for advice, you know, a 'girl perspective' so he wouldn't hurt you. I'm sorry," she finished sadly, wondering if she should hug her friend. Veronica wasn't much of the hugging type, though. "This is why I wanted to do girls' night. You deserve a little pampering, try the facial cream," Parker finished, passing Veronica the bowl of homemade facial cream. She had read about it in some magazine and insisted that they try it.

Mac looked between the two of them, torn between wanting to yell at Parker for telling Logan's secret and wanting to comfort Veronica. "Good job, Parker," she settled, "you don't even know for sure if he will. He said he was thinking about it. Veronica…" Mac started, noticing her friend start to tear up.

Veronica stood; ready to bolt from the room. Her friends did not need to see her like this. Why was she so upset anyway? It's not like they were official or anything. They just went out on a few dates. She had said it herself: a few dates did not make her his girlfriend. "I'm fine Mac, I think this stuff is a little strong, though," she said, wiping her eyes and putting the bowl down away from herself.

If anyone in the room believed that performance, she deserved an Oscar. Instead, the two other girls looked at her with pity in their eyes. "I think I'm just going to go home," Veronica continued, collecting her bag, "I have a paper that I forgot to write and I should really do that. Scholarships, grades, all that important stuff. I'll see you guys later, though."

With that, she walked past them and out of the room. Briefly, she considered going up the flight of stairs to Wallace's room. Technically this did fall under the territory of best friend responsibilities, however, Wallace still lived with Piz and Veronica did not feel like dealing with him at the moment. Instead, she went directly out to her car.

Logan would get a kick out of that; all semester he had forbade her from walking to her car alone at night. She figured it didn't really matter at that moment, since he was ending things. Nothing bad happened; she made it safely to her car. He was just overreacting. Typical Logan, she sighed.

Making sure to lock her car doors as soon as she was safely inside, she finally allowed herself to cry. They had been doing so well. Well, if he was having trouble ending things without hurting her, maybe she should just rip off the band-aid and end things with him first. His house was, after all, just a short drive away. She could go over there, end things, and be home in thirty minutes.

Mac glared at Parker, "you have to tell him what you did," she insisted, crossing her arms at her roommate. Mac understood why Parker did what she did, but it didn't change the fact that she did it.

"Fine!" Parker grumbled, picking up her cell phone and calling Logan. It rang a few times before she heard his familiar voice through the phone, "so… I might have done something tonight…"

Logan's audible sigh was heard through the phone before his response, "what did you do?" he asked, calmly. He wasn't really in the mood to be bothered, considering Dick decided it would be a good night to eat his "special" brownies, forgetting that they were "special" and going off on a very interesting trip.

"I kind of told Veronica that you might possibly kind of be ending things with her," Parker said, speeding up towards the end so her words ran together. Oops.

The silence was deafening before he spoke, "Okay. Okay. Listen, I really have to go, Dick's trying to pet the rainbow, so… I will talk to you later. Please, just don't tell Ronnie anything else, okay?" With that, Parker heard dial tone and closed her phone.

"What did he say?" Mac asked, in the middle of cleaning up girls' night.

Parker stopped her, just because Veronica wasn't there didn't mean they couldn't have roommate bonding time. "He said Dick was trying to pet the rainbow and he had to go and to not say anything else to Veronica. I don't know what the first part means, but I can do the second," she said with a sigh.

Dick, meanwhile, had decided that the railing on their deck was indeed a rainbow, and a furry rainbow at that, and needed petting. Of course, with Dick not being of full mental capacity, Logan was concerned that he may somehow find a way to send himself over the railing. While this wouldn't be deadly, Logan figured that might end in a trip to the emergency room, a place he didn't particularly want to spend his evening. So, he corralled Dick back inside and two his own room, where he could ride out his high in solitude.

Logan was half-disappointed when Veronica didn't show up at his place that evening. He expected her to show up and either fight for them or yell at him or something. Though, he wasn't complaining that he didn't have to deal with an emotional Veronica after dealing with Dick, he was just surprised.

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A/N: I know. Go ahead and hate. I'd probably hate me now too if I didn't know what was going to happen next... oh wait. Haha. Well. Reviews are wonderful. For serious. Also, I'd like to make a shout out to all of you who have been with me since day one. Your dedication is amazing and I heart you. I heart all the rest of you too. I just hearted them first. Haha. Okay. Review and stay tuned for more to come. Peace.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Here is the continuation that I'm sure everyone has been dying to read. I hope it lives up to your expectations. I'm feeling maybe 1-2 more chapters, my goal was 20, so that would put it right on the nose. So, read, enjoy, come back tomorrow for some more.

So, I read all of your reviews and I'm sorry for the mass confusion. I hope this really clears it up for all of you, since it kind of has a bit of background into Logan's thought processes. It will be even clearer after the next chapter but if you really want to know what happens in a nutshell SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT Stop reading now if you don't want to know and continue to the line where the chapter begins. Okay. Everyone gone? So, basically, at the end of 16, Logan decides that he really wants this. He wants to be all in. Except, in kind of classic Logan style, where he has a lot of money and flash, he wants to make a big production out of it. Go big or go home. So, he's kind of out of his head for a few days trying to work out all of the details, since he has less help planning this than her party, and he wants to make it a surprise. He asks Parker for help, trying to distract Veronica, hence the girls night and when Veronica brings up that she noticed Logan has been acting funny, Parker just says the first excuse that comes into her head. Already upset with the fact that Logan just kind of disappeared after a really awesome night together, Veronica believes what Parker says to be truth. All of this comes out in this chapter and the first half of the next one. I'm sorry to all of you who were confused. I think it might have been the whole chapter break thing and lack of insight into Logan's head that threw the flow off and that is completely my fault and I'm sorry.

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Chapter 18: Un-Tell Her

Because of the weekend, it was a few days before Logan actually saw Veronica again. They hadn't made plans, and as he predicted, she wasn't taking his calls. He knew if he asked her about it, he would get one of about four generic responses: I was working, I was studying, I was with my dad or, and this was his favorite, I was busy.

He didn't see her on Monday either; she had conveniently skipped lunch in the cafeteria and left right when her class finished. Logan thought of stopping by Mars Investigations, where he was sure she went, but thought he would give her another day to cool down. If she was still avoiding him in class on Tuesday, he would make her talk to him.

Veronica fought with herself at work that afternoon. While she so badly wanted to trust Logan and not see what he was up to, the temptation to do a little digging on the past few weeks was overwhelming. She could look at credit card records to see if there was anyone else. However, before she got the chance, a woman came in requesting the standard "cheating husband" package, and she needed to do actual work.

Tuesday morning found her especially exhausted after an exceptionally long surveillance session the night before. Why did people have to wait until two in the morning to have their affairs? Why couldn't they just be considerate and have them at eleven so she could get to bed at a decent hour? Seriously.

With coffee in one hand and her books in the other, Veronica made it to class on time, taking her usual seat next to Logan. She remained silent as she placed her books on the desk and her bag next to her chair. She didn't even bother to remove the sunglasses that hid her tired eyes. Throughout the rest of class, she remained silent, distant, and focused. Those were probably the best notes she had taken all semester.

At the end of class, he pulled her aside until the room was empty, needing to talk to her. "Parker told me," she started for him, "I know, and let me save you the trouble. I can't keep avoiding you, so I'm just going to go ahead and say it: It's over. We had a good run, but I guess it's time to face the music, we just weren't meant to be. Have a nice life, Logan." With that, she shook herself from his grip and left him in the room alone.

Veronica went to find comfort in her best friend, Wallace. He would be a great distraction, since he never wanted to get in the middle of relationship drama. Hesitantly she knocked on the door to his room, knowing that just as easily Piz could be behind the door.

"Hey Veronica, Wallace isn't here..." Piz said, almost uncertain that Veronica was standing in front of him.

With a sigh, Veronica entered the room anyway, deciding that she needed set Piz straight eventually, might as well be now while she was still full of nerve, "We should talk, anyway," she said, taking a seat on Wallace's bed. He wouldn't mind. "Piz, I think I need to clear the air, here. I didn't break up with you to initiate some kind of game to try to get you to chase me. I'm not sure where exactly you got that idea, but it's not true. We just weren't right for each other." After all, it would come out eventually what happened between her and Logan in the lecture hall a few moments ago, and she didn't want Piz to think that was a green light for him.

She paused to gather her thoughts, "You think that I am this super-human being that comes in and saves the day, making everything right for the little guy, but I'm not. Piz, I'm human, and I can get hurt. What I need is someone to tell me that some of my ideas are crazy and either try to stop me or know the dangers and go with me anyway. You were never that person. You said it yourself, you're a lover, not a fighter." Veronica took another breath and laced her fingers together in her lap, "I need you to stop chasing me. Logan or not, you and I are not meant to be. I'm sorry."

She thought about Logan and his reservations about every dangerous situation she had ever put herself in. He wouldn't let her do it sitting down. That's exactly what she needed to keep her safe. Piz was never going to be that guy. Sure, he could be fun to hang out with, but she knew he would never be enough and he needed to understand that. Plus, her heart wasn't into it; wasn't into him.

Veronica got up to leave, having spoken her peace. She wasn't ready to repair their friendship, but she did need him to understand that it was never going to be him, regardless of her status with Logan. The bottom line was he was never going to be what she needed or wanted. "Wait," he called after her. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I was at the mall, trying to find a birthday present for you and I went up to this girl to ask for her opinion, and we started talking. She knew you, I thought she was a friend we overlooked, so I invited her to the party as my date. She really is a nice girl."

She shook her head, "Maybe to you, but there are some things that Madison has done to me that I am not ready to forgive her for doing." Maybe one day in the far off distant future, but not today.

"What, like sleep with Logan while you weren't even together?" Piz scoffed. He didn't understand what someone could do that was so bad. If that was the worst of it, then maybe Veronica was overreacting a little bit.

Veronica moved closer to the door, assuming Wallace had told him about that, "_That_ is none of your business. I've spoken my peace and now I'm going to leave. I'm just going to need time for this, Piz." With that, she was out the door and heading back to her car. Perhaps that was progress? At least she knew where Piz had run into Madison, so it was a start. Still, the quip at the end was definitely meant to hurt her. By the time she reached the quad, she was already shaking the thoughts of Madison out of her head, replacing them with a replay of what went down in the classroom.

Meanwhile, Logan wanted to kill Parker and her big mouth. Well, not literally. How could she screw this up for him? Logan marched off to find her. He was going to make her fix this.

Logan finally caught up to her on the quad as she walked to her next class, "Veronica ended things with me. I hope you're happy," he said and grabbed her arm to turn her around.

"I'm sorry. It was the only thing I could think of. I didn't even think that she would buy that," Parker insisted, "I need to get to class."

He shook his head, "Not until you fix this. Go and un-tell her that I was breaking up with her. Tell her you made a mistake. I don't care. She won't talk to me. She won't let me explain. I asked you guys to do one simple thing." His arms were waving now and he was struggling to control his voice.

Logan had asked Parker, Mac and Wallace for a little help in planning the perfect date for Veronica to officially make her his girlfriend. Of course, it had to remain a secret. He didn't want Veronica Mars, P.I., to figure out what was going down. Their job was simple: allow him to bounce ideas off of them and throw her off the trail if she became suspicious.

What Parker had done, however, was throw Veronica so far off the trail; she was lost in the woods. How was Logan going to get Veronica to go out on a date with him now if she thought he wanted to end things, for good?

"I said I was sorry," Parker defended, looking at her watch. She really needed to get to class. "I'll try talking to her later. Maybe she'll buy that I misunderstood you or something. I really need to get going."

Logan grabbed her elbow to keep her from walking away, "I'm sorry. It's just… there's a lot riding on this. If I mess it up now, I lose her forever and I can't do that. I just can't."

Parker felt bad for the guy, she really did, and wrapped him in a hug. Unfortunately, from across the quad, where Veronica stood, frozen on her way to get her jacket from her car, the innocent hug looked like a little more than an innocent hug. The nerve of him, she literally just ended things no more than fifteen minutes ago and he was already in Parker's arms.

Hurt and a little betrayed, Veronica continued her trek to her car. However, instead of needing her jacket for the predicted cold weather inside her next classroom, she instead drove off, deciding to skip her final class of the day. She just needed some time alone to think.

Hours later, after classes, Parker paced in her dorm before finally calling Logan, "I can't find her," she said when he answered. "Her phone is off; I haven't seen her on campus all day. I tried going by her apartment, her work, she wasn't at either. I'm sorry, Logan," Parker felt bad. She was supposed to make things right and yet, Veronica had disappeared.

"She wasn't in our afternoon class either," Logan confessed, suddenly getting worried, "thanks anyway. I'll just have to go and find her. I know a couple of places that she likes to go."

Logan ended the call with Parker before cursing. It didn't make sense for Veronica to just leave like that. Running after a confrontation? It didn't add up. He grabbed his keys and headed out to his car to go look for her.

He tried the places Parker had already mentioned, again, just to be sure himself. He tried the Camelot, thinking she might have surveillance that evening, but no such luck. He tried Dog Beach, knowing she probably wasn't going to choose the strip of beach near his own house, but no such luck. Then he thought of one last place to look: Lilly's grave.

Sure enough, when he arrived to the cemetery, he saw a lone blond figure sitting on a bench before he spotted her car in the parking lot. Logan walked slowly over to her, not wanting to frighten her with his sudden presence or disrupt her time with Lilly. Putting his hands in his pockets, he moved closer and could faintly hear what she was saying.

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A/N: So, I must admit that I rewrote this ending about fifteen times, trying out several different places, knowing Lilly's grave is a cliche, but nothing else felt right. I really try to avoid most cliches, but some of them are cliches for a reason, they just work. All the reviews?


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: So, here is the conclusion of all of that. This is the last "chapter" but I will be putting up an epilogue. Thanks for all of the support you guys. You are amazing, even with all of the hate I've been getting. I get it, it's okay. With the several rewrites of the last chapter, came several rewrites of this one lol. Enjoy!

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Chapter 19: Trying

"Hey Lilly," Veronica began, speaking to the headstone of her oldest friend, "I'm sorry I haven't come by as often as I used to." Right after Lilly died, she had spent a lot of time in the cemetery, everyone else had exiled her. "I hope you're enjoying it up there in heaven. I just miss you sometimes; you always knew what to do."

She let the tears fall freely now, her emotions getting the better of her. Though, she wasn't sure if they were from Logan or Lilly or a mixture of both, she wasn't sure if she would admit to either. "Veronica..." she heard Lilly's disapproving voice in her head, "do you really think Logan would date Parker behind your back? Think about it."

Lilly was right. Logan was always a one woman kind of guy. He would never even look at someone else when he was in a relationship. It was always Lilly cheating on Logan, dumping him and picking him up, never the other way around. Of course Logan wasn't dating Parker on the side. It just wasn't like him. "Ah, now you're getting somewhere," she heard Lilly's voice say.

That still didn't add up. Maybe he wanted to date Parker and she was in the way? "Veronica..." came Lilly's voice again, "Logan just spent the last four months fighting for a relationship with you. Do you really think he's going to throw all of that away for _Parker_?" Lilly had a point there. Logan had been more than understanding about the terms she had given him. He was trying so hard and she was the one standing in the way at every step. "That's it," Lilly said, "He's yours. He's always been yours. He's always going to be yours, just let him."

Veronica knew then that Lilly was finished talking to her, even if it was her own sub-conscience manifesting itself in the form of Lilly's voice. She had been wrong, of course Logan didn't want Parker. That was absurd, and now she's probably ruined her chance with Logan. Veronica stood with a start, having to go find Logan and fix things.

She didn't have to go far because as soon as she turned to walk down the path, she literally bumped into Logan. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, not looking up and momentarily forgetting where she was. Then it hit her, "Logan? What are you doing here?"

His eyes lit up, "Looking for you. Can we talk?" he asked, looking back towards his car, not really wanting to have this conversation in the cemetery.

"I think that's a good idea," she replied, allowing him to lead her out of the cemetery. He drove for a ways before pulling up to the beach. The sky was just getting to that point at dusk when it was painted with all of the colors and the water sparkled.

He pulled a blanket out of the back of his car before leading her on to the beach to sit. "Parker told me what she said to you," he began.

"I saw you with her today, on the quad. She was hugging you," Veronica recalled, wanting to be sure that what she saw was nothing.

He nodded, "I told her that she needed fix it and she saw that I was upset about what... _happened_ and hugged me. You have to know that I never told her to say any of that. She made it up." He paused and fidgeted with the edge of the blanket for a moment, " I asked Parker, Wallace and Mac for help on something, well Parker really, since Mac and Wallace didn't want to get involved. I wanted to surprise you, but you're... well... a detective and it's kind of hard to surprise you. And I asked her to kind of throw you off the trail if you suspected anything, and she took it a little too far."

Veronica nodded and let him continue. "I did go out of town for a few days. I should have told you, but I honestly didn't expect to be gone for so long." He paused and pulled a small box out of his pocket, "I went to New York to get this. _This_ wasn't the way I wanted to give this to you, but it's as good of a time as any." He handed over the small, velvet covered box and watched her open it.

Her eyes went wide, but she wasn't smiling, "Logan..?" she questioned, not understanding the gesture.

He shook his head, "Not an engagement ring, a promise ring. I want you to be my girlfriend, Veronica, and I want the whole world to know that you belong to me. Of course, I was going to do this in a much fancier setting, but this is more... _us_. While I can't promise I won't ever screw up again, because we both know that would be a lie, I can promise that I'm not going anywhere. I promise to work at this relationship, putting the time and effort into it, because this, you, us is important to me. I promise that I plan to one day replace that ring with an even bigger one when I ask you to marry me. Not today, probably not even this year, but one day."

Then he saw it, her smile, happy tears running down her face as she put the box aside and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close for a passionate kiss. Breaking away with the need for air, she handed the ring box back to him so he could put the ring on her finger himself. It was a nice ring, simple, but sparkly, and he had designed it himself, which is why he went to New York. Of course, what he designed had taken longer to assemble than predicted, so he was hung up there a few extra days.

After a _long_ night of "celebrating" their new status as official, they walked hand-in-hand into the cafeteria to meet up with their friends for breakfast. Veronica just happened to use her left hand to open the bottle of juice on her tray, giving the table a good look at her ring. "Oh My God! Did you guys..?" Parker started screaming, looking between the two of them.

Logan shook his head, "No, we're just official now. Veronica is my girlfriend. I do say, I like the sound of that," he said with a smile before leaning in and placing a light kiss on Veronica's lips.

"I'm pretty sure that rock is larger than my car," Mac commented, thinking of her green bug. "You do realize you're going to have to get her a bigger one when you propose, right?"

Logan nodded with a smile, glad their friends had faith in their relationship. Their friends. He liked the sound of that too, that he could so easily consider Veronica's friends his own. "So, sugarpuss, what would you like to do today after class?" he asked, when they left breakfast so he could walk her to her class.

"Maybe we could... uh... celebrate some more? I'd really like to try out that hot tub," she said, gently squeezing his hand for good measure.

He smiled. Could his sweet, innocent Veronica be suggesting middle-of-the-day sex in a hot tub, which happened to be outside on the deck at his beach house? Very public. Logan's eyes widened. He could definitely get used to spending the rest of his life like this. He leaned in and kissed her before promising to meet her outside of that classroom when her class was finished. Logan, of course, would not be able to pay attention during his class at all, thinking of all the ways they could spend the afternoon together. "You know, you still have a pretty big pile of presents at my house that you haven't opened yet and I'm pretty sure there are a few _fun_ things in there that you might want to see."

Veronica playfully hit him before giving him one final kiss outside of her class, "I have to go, and we'll see about those presents. I don't think I ever got around to properly thanking you for that party either." Logan waited until she went inside the classroom before walking to his own class. Sure, he would probably be a few minutes late, but it would be worth it. Veronica was always worth it.

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A/N: So, there you have it folks. They got back together. I guess you'll have to wait for the epilogue to see if they stay together. Reviews make me less evil lol jk I need to stop begging. Im worse than a puppy.


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Well, this is it folks. Epilogue time. I had several ideas of where to pick them back up and in the so many rewrites that I had, this won out with a lot of my previous ideas becoming flashbacks, so that's pretty cool. Enjoy! and thank you so much everyone who has been there with me for this entire story. I love all of you and your support has been incredible.

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Chapter 20: Epilogue

For the 20th anniversary of Aaron Echolls' brutal murder, Tinseltown Diaries wanted to do a family update to air on the momentous occasion. Logan agreed after a desperate plea from Trina, who was still fighting to be an actress and thought this could be her big break. No matter how distant Trina was every other day of the year, Logan still wanted to help out his sister. They were, after all, family.

Now the film crew sat in their living room, waiting to interview him, and surprisingly, the rest of his family.

"Logan..." the host began, looking him straight in the eyes, "Twenty years ago, Hollywood lost one of their own, your father, Aaron Echolls, and to this day, his murder remains unsolved. Do you ever want to solve the case to give your father justice?"

He smiled and shook his head. One, he already knew who did it, thanks to Veronica's help. Two, he had never been happier. "Nope," Logan responded, obviously shocking the host, "My father got what he deserved."

She needed a minute to compose herself to continue the interview, taking a stab at a different line of questioning, "I noticed as I walked around your home earlier that you didn't have a single Aaron Echolls film in your collection. Is it too difficult to watch them?"

Logan's smile grew, "Yes, it is. It is just too painful to watch such terrible acting."

"Okay..." the host said, quickly running out of angles to approach Logan. Trina was so easy, she broke down, needed consoling and played the loving daughter role well. Logan on the other hand, appeared to not miss his father at all. "So, the last time we spoke to you, you were just a teenager. How has your life changed since then?"

The memories of the past twenty years rushed into his head, "I'm married now, almost fifteen years, to the love of my life," Logan began, thinking back to his wedding day.

_"You're not going to tell me?" he asked his beautiful bride as they took their positions on the dance floor for their first dance._

_She shook her head with an innocent smile, "Nope, but if you're patient, you'll find out in two seconds when they start to play it."_

_Her smile caused him to smile as he placed his hands on her waist to begin the dance. It took him a few beats to recognize the song but when he did, the smile on his face was replaced with shock, "Really?" he asked her._

_"I just wanted to make it a dream come true. I want to make all of your dreams come true, Logan," she said, moving closer to him as the song continued._

_She was something else. After all those years she remembered his sarcastic comment about "I've Had the Time of my Life" played when he dreamed of dancing with her. She actually made it their song to dance to for the first time as husband and wife. Any doubts he could have possibly had about marrying her completely vanished. Veronica Mars... Veronica Echolls was the one meant for him._

"I have four beautiful, healthy children, whom I never thought I could love as much as I do. They're probably listening in right now and are rolling their eyes in embarrassment, but it's true," Logan continued.

_They were laying in bed one night after a fun day at the zoo with their three boys, "What about one more?" Veronica asked him, referring to having another baby. After their third, they both had agreed that three was a good number._

_"Are you sure?" he asked. Secretly, after three boys, he wanted a little girl; one he could spoil and protect and have him wrapped around her little finger._

_Veronica nodded, "I miss having a baby in the house. Plus, maybe it will be a girl. I feel a little outnumbered here by all the men," she laughed, knowing Logan's secret desires. She could read Logan pretty well and sometimes he didn't have to say anything, she just knew. Plus, Veronica wanted a little girl too._

_"Okay then, one little girl, coming up," Logan laughed, kissing his wife. Although neither of them knew it at the time, in nine months they would be the proud parents of a little girl._

"My oldest son, Shane, actually had a starring role in the movie that we just finished shooting, coming out this winter," Logan continued. He never thought he would be one of those fathers that could brag for hours about his child's accomplishments, but he had taken to parenthood like a fish to water.

The host said nothing at Logan's shameless plug for not only his new movie but his son as well, "How do you think your father would have reacted to the news that his grandson is following in his rather large footsteps?"

_"It's one audition," Veronica calmed Logan, who wasn't thrilled with the idea of his son becoming an actor. He had never really liked the public life and didn't really want that for his children. "If we're lucky," she continued, "he will have gotten your dad's terrible acting genes and we'll never have to worry about this again." She laughed and put her arms around him to comfort him._

_Still, it wasn't really helping, "What if they like him," knowing it was a possibility with a name like Echolls, regardless of talent._

_"Then we support him. We treat him like a normal kid, like all of our other children, we put all of the money he makes acting in a trust fund for him when he gets older and we deal with it. It's what he wants to do, Logan," she clutched his hand, "It will be fine. Plus, it's your movie. You'll be on set like 95% of the time, you can make sure they treat him well and embarrass the hell out of him. He won't want to do another one that way."_

Shane did end up getting the role and Logan did watch out for him in a way he knew his own father would not. Although, it did bother him that he may never know if they selected his son on his own merit or because of his famous name. "He probably would have loved it," Logan said, honestly. If Aaron Echolls was still alive, he would probably be fighting to give Shane acting lessons, be seen everywhere with the boy, and make sure that the kid was noticed. Of course, Logan never would have allowed such a thing to happen. "We will never really know though," Logan finished.

"If your father was here right now, what would you say to him?" the host tried to bring this back to Aaron, since the special was about him.

Logan looked around and took a moment before answering, "Honestly, I don't have anything to say to him. He made his bed and now he has to lie in it." He looked at his watch, this interview had already taken longer than he had agreed to.

The host noticed his antics, "Is there somewhere else you need to be?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah, actually, my sons have a soccer game today and I'd really like to be there for them," Logan said, taking off his microphone and getting out of the chair. He honestly didn't care what this media rag would show on television about him. The people who were important to him would know the truth and the rest he didn't really care about.

That afternoon, he stood in the sidelines with his beautiful wife and daughter cheering on his three sons in their soccer game. Logan remembered back to that day at twelve years old when he stood on the very same field and caught a glance for the first time at the girl that would one day grow up and become his wife and make him the happiest man alive. He reached out and pulled Veronica closer to him, placing his arm around her waist and received an eye roll from his nine-year-old. Ignoring her, he persisted to plant a soft kiss on his wife's forehead, "I rapture you."

She smiled at him, "I rapture you, too. Are you feeling okay?"

Logan nodded, "Yeah, just remembering you in those shorts with those socks on this field..."

Veronica playfully hit him, "We're never speaking of that again!"

"Do you remember our honeymoon?" he asked, not sure why he thought of it.

She nodded, "We went to Italy, it was so beautiful."

"And you made me wait here for an extra day.." he remembered with a laugh.

_They sat on the bed in front of her laptop as she made the travel arrangements for their honeymoon. He noticed she had made separate flight arrangements for the trip there, "Is there a reason you don't want to fly with me?" he asked, thinking the wedding planning was getting to her._ _All of that money spent on a wedding, she wasn't used to that, he knew, "We can afford to fly together, really."_

_"No, you might not remember it, but I do. I want us to be epic, Logan. Spanning years and continents, lives ruined, bloodshed. Epic," she recited his speech from that night, "I'd say we have the years thing pretty much covered, and the lives ruined part. You have certainly done enough bloodshed for the both of us, but we've never spanned continents. So, you need to be here and I need to be there and..."_

_He smiled at her memory, "Yes. Okay. Book the flights. I want to have an epic love story with you, Veronica Mars." Logan leaned in and kissed her. In a few short days they would be husband and wife and if she wanted a technicality, she could have it._

Veronica nodded, "Completely worth it. I met so many cute pool boys at the hotel and ate my weight in actual Italian lasagna. We should go back sometime."

"Okay," he agreed before cheering for his son who just scored his fourth goal that game. And that was their life and they wouldn't change it for anything. A house on the beach. Four kids. And so much love that it was never a question. Their story truly was a happily ever after.

* * *

A/N: Reviews are lovely and I really do want to start working on another story. I have a couple of ideas brewing. We'll see how it goes. Also, I love my chliched self for the "I've Had the time of my life" as their wedding song, and the spanning continents for epic. I tried to squeeze in a DK return, but it was too much. He might have come back by this point. He might not have. Oh well. Not relevant. lol. I hope to see you guys around in another LoVe story sometime.


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